Business interruption remains the most feared threat to companies worldwide this year, the sixth straight year it has topped the annual Allianz Risk Barometer.

About 42% of the record 1911 risk experts from 80 countries and territories surveyed named business interruption as the biggest danger, while 40% identified cyber incidents, which moved up one spot to second place.

Natural disasters climbed from fourth to third, with last year’s devastating Atlantic hurricanes fresh in the minds of many.

At the country level, almost half of respondents in Australia see cyber incidents as the leading business risk, followed by business interruption, with changes in legislation and regulation sharing third place with new technologies.

New risks debuting on the Australian list include quality deficiencies, serial defects, product recall, climate change and weather volatility, and talent shortage.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), which conducts the annual risk survey, predicts cyber attacks will intensify and grow more sophisticated this year.

So-called “cyber hurricanes” such as last year’s WannaCry attack, where hackers disrupt many companies by targeting common infrastructure dependencies, are tipped to accelerate.

“Just like a natural disaster, a single cyber attack can potentially impact hundreds of companies, leading to severe business interruption and loss of customers and reputation,” AGCS says.

“Increasing interconnectivity means it is more important than ever for companies to review cyber security and resilience and consider the role of cyber insurance as part of their risk management.”

AGCS Head of Catastrophe Risk Research Ali Shahkarami says as industries “become leaner and more connected globally, it is becoming more and more clear that natural catastrophes can trigger or contribute to many other risks… This has certainly influenced the sustained attention on natural catastrophes in the risk barometer.”