Cybersecurity around the World
- By Sydny Shepard
- May 17, 2016
Hackers have no boundaries. Through phishing scams and ransom ware there are many opportunities for a cybercrime to happen anywhere in the world. While the news of American cybercrimes seem to be in the headlines every day, we don’t hear so much about places in other countries and how they are combating these high-tech information heists.
Recently, hackers used a crucial messaging system to stage one of the biggest data breaches in history. The criminals targeted Bangladesh’s central bank, and used the SWIFT payment system to the transfer of pounds to accounts everywhere. Although some accounts were blocked, they were still about to shift money to accounts in the Philippines and Singapore. SWIFT is used by about 11,000 banking groups across the globe to send payment orders.
Now, Singapore central banks are asking for a higher level of security for their IT systems following SWIFT breach.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore “expects financial institutions to implement strong controls in their IT systems as set out in the MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines,” a spokeswoman said in response to media queries.
Singapore’s MAS would continue to monitor the security landscape and threats faced by the financial industry and provide guidance where necessary.
As a result of the attacks the Philippines’ central bank is crafting more regulations to help banks and other financial institutions fend off cyber heists and minimize damage after any systems breach.
Nestor Espenilla, the Philippines’ central bank deputy governor in charge of banking supervision, said cyber threats were growing. Due to the increase in threats, Espenilla explained that they must stay vigilant and not become complacent with current systems.
Regulators were looking at requiring banks to immediately report cybercrime to contain the treat and to ensure financial institutions learn from each other, Espenilla said. Additional measures would elevate information technology standards of banks to align them with international norms.
British banks have been warned that they must improve their security after the SWIFT attacks. Due to aging software, the banks have become easy to break into. Dan Hooper, co-founder of The Piccadilly Group banking software form explains the problem as a race between banks and cyber criminals to find the cracks in the systems.
“Once they get to work, criminals may have access to sensitive data that can be exploited for financial gain.” Hooper said. “Organizations at risk of financial crime must seriously review and consider their options now.”
About the Author
Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.