METHODS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF CYBER RISKS: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON PATENT DATA

Abstract

The problem of fast-rising cyber-risks become very important in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Cyber-risks cause not only high losses but also break the chain of economic relations between companies and their customers. Besides, cyber risks change their form and structure rapidly, so the tools of risk management must be adequate. That is why the problem of cyber-risk identification and assessment has gotten attention and become so actual. The purpose of this study is to outline new approaches to identifying and estimating cyber-risks based on the dates of the World International Property Organization (WIPO). In order to conduct our study, we will use various tools and techniques such as: citation analysis, cluster analysis, and visualization. We have analyzed the patent information from the groups of “Electric digital data processing”, “Transmission of digital information” and data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for financial purposes. In our findings, we analyze the technical and economic significance of patents. Our work has led us to conclude that the number of methods of cyber risk identification that were the objects of applications granted by WIPO has a strong connection with the number of cyber-attacks from 2010 to 2017. That is why the innovative methods that were granted have a wide spectrum of influence and could be used in different stages of risk management. We selected patents that based on cyber risk identification and assessment from the data of WIPO and divided these patents into clusters. This helps us in understanding the trends and characters of innovative activities directed to successful management of cyber risks.