Is Cybercrime the new AML in the boardroom: An Existential Threat, Not Just an IT Issue
14/09/2025
The idea that cybercrime is the new AML (Anti-Money Laundering) in the boardroom is gaining traction, and it's well-supported by insights from the Diligent 2025 Governance Trends Report and the Boardroom Resilience 2025 whitepaper.
Here's a breakdown of the comparison and why cyber risk is now seen as an existential governance issue:
Diligent's 2025 Governance Trends Report states that Cybercrime costs are projected to reach $13.82 trillion by 2028, up from $9.22 trillion in 2024 —a 50% increase.
- This includes Stolen funds, Data destruction, Intellectual property theft, Business disruption, Reputational damage, Regulatory fines
Boards that still treat cybersecurity as a technical silo risk are missing the bigger picture: cyber threats now directly impact valuation, strategy, and survival.
Why Boards Must Elevate Cyber to the Strategic Agenda
- Digital Assets Drive Valuation
- The most valuable companies are data-centric.
- A breach can wipe out core business value overnight.
- Generative AI Has Expanded the Attack Surface
- Attack surfaces have grown by 67% due to AI adoption.
- More systems = more vulnerabilities
- Real-World Example: CrowdStrike Outage
- A faulty update in July 2024 affected 8.5 million Microsoft systems.
- Insurance costs are expected to reach $300 million–$1 billion.
- If it had been a malicious attack, the damage could have doubled
What Boards Should Do Now
- Treat infrastructure upgrades as high-risk events.
- Implement robust change management for software and systems.
- Use real-time dashboards to monitor cyber posture continuously.
- Ensure cybersecurity is a standing item on board agendas.
- Engage directly with CISOs and risk officers, not just IT leads.
Final Thought
- Just as AML evolved from a niche compliance concern to a boardroom imperative, cybercrime is undergoing the same transformation but faster, and with broader implications.
- Boards that fail to adapt risk not just fines, but existential failure.
References
Corporate Governance Trends in 2025 - Diligent Corporation https://www.diligent.com/resources/blog/corporate-governance-trends
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.