Foreword Three decades after the internet became publicly available, digital connectivity has become as vital to societies as physical infrastructure – enabling economic growth, social inclusion and innovation on a global scale. Originally designed to foster openness and collaboration among researchers, the internet’s architecture was not built with the safeguards needed for today’s scale and complexity. This gap has created a digital environment that, while enabling unprecedented opportunity and growth, also exposes individuals and organizations to increasingly sophisticated threats such as frauds and scams – underscoring the need for systemic resilience and collective action. Recognizing the need to rebalance responsibility for cybersecurity, the World Economic Forum’s Partnership against Cybercrime – together with the Institute for Security and Technology (IST) – led the Advancing Systemic Defence working group to fight phishing and cyber-enabled fraud. Building on the Partnership’s progress in fostering public– private operational collaboration, this effort seeks to advance shared responsibility throughout the digital ecosystem by stimulating coordinated action and required policy reforms by the key stakeholders. There is no single blueprint for addressing such a complex challenge, but there is growing global consensus on the urgency to act. This white paper contributes to that effort by presenting key insights and outlining targeted opportunities for systemic solutions. Its aim is not to attribute fault, but to translate this shared urgency into coordinated action – mobilizing governments, industry leaders and civil society to strengthen the collective capacity to prevent, protect against and mitigate cyber-enabled fraud across the digital ecosystem. Those who build and operate digital infrastructure share a responsibility to protect the public good. Just like the physical foundations of modern life, digital infrastructure must be designed and maintained to serve society safely and sustainably. Meeting this challenge requires collective, forward- leaning action to complement existing approaches aimed at strengthening the digital environment to prevent abuse and protect the people and communities who rely on it every day. This white paper serves as a call to action: now is the time to join forces across sectors and borders to build a digital ecosystem that is secure by design and resilient by default.Philip Reiner Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Institute for Security and Technology (IST)Akshay Joshi Head, Centre for Cybersecurity; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum Fighting Cyber-Enabled Fraud: A Systemic Defence ApproachDecember 2025 Fighting Cyber-Enabled Fraud: A Systemic Defence Approach 3

Fighting Cyber-Enabled Fraud 2025