An increasing number of cyber attacks on financial institutions is worrying the ECB’s banking supervisor. “It must be clear to all of us that the threat has increased,” ECB banking supervisor Anneli Tuominen told the “Börsen-Zeitung”. The number of attacks on IT systems is at a higher level than before the corona pandemic.
“So far, however, eurozone banks have proven resilient. The attacks were not so severe as to destabilize individual institutions or the banking system. However, we must be prepared. A successful attack is possible at any time,” Tuominen warned.
Stress test for Cyber Risks carried out
In January, the European Central Bank (ECB), which has directly overseen the largest banks in the eurozone since 2014, will begin its first cyber risk stress test. “A serious cyber attack is simulated that disrupts business operations. From the perspective of the institutions, things are getting serious,” said Tuominen, member of the ECB Banking Supervision Board. “We want to know how banks respond to a cyber attack, recover from it and resume normal business operations. Our main goal is to identify the banks’ weaknesses.”
Almost all 109 banks currently under direct supervision of the ECB will be involved. According to Tuominen, 28 of them must undergo an extensive test in which these institutions must provide more detailed information.
The regulators want to take a closer look at where banks transfer IT processes to third parties to save money. “That does not necessarily go hand in hand with good risk management. Banks also need to understand the risks associated with outsourcing,” Tuominen said. Service providers outside banks, such as IT or cloud providers, are “certainly an issue that we need to look at further,” the ECB banking supervisor said.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
