A new report, jointly released by UN agencies on Tuesday, warns of the potential for a "digital pandemic" triggered by disruptions to communication networks and calls for coordinated action from countries to enhance digital resilience.

The report, titled "When digital systems fail: The hidden risks of our digital world," outlines risk scenarios on Earth, at sea and in space, analyzing the fragility of interconnected digital systems and providing a roadmap for preparedness.

These risk scenarios and the resulting "digital pandemics" are described as follows: a severe solar storm could disable satellites, disrupt navigation systems and destabilize energy grids, with recovery times potentially lasting months; extreme temperatures could overwhelm data centers, leading to mobile service outages and malfunctions in healthcare systems and financial transactions; earthquakes or other natural hazards can sever vital internet connections, slowing business operations and leaving entire nations offline for weeks.

The report also highlights another vulnerability: societies have grown dependent on digital systems without maintaining analog skills and ensuring adequate fallback options. When big systems fail, offline alternatives are not always available.

Resilience must be built into the DNA of the technologies we depend on," said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). "This report urges us to consider the systemic nature of risks and rethink how we protect the systems that connect and empower humanity."

"As our societies become more reliant on digital technologies, disruptions caused by disasters can cascade across systems and borders, triggering far-reaching and potentially catastrophic failures," said Kamal Kishore, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). "We must plan, build and maintain digital infrastructure with systemic risk in mind – now and for the future. Digital infrastructure must be resilient infrastructure."

Experts brought together by ITU, UNDRR, and Sciences Po in Paris called for coordinated action among countries to improve digital resilience and protect essential services such as healthcare, finance, and emergency response.