Cyber Attacks top Concerns of Global Financial Institutions

Following recent high-profile cyber attacks on major sectors of the global economy, cyber security has become the main concern of the financial services industry, a survey by The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) reveals.

A record 84% of respondents in DTCC’s ‘Systemic Risk Barometer’ identified cyber-risk as one of their top five concerns – an increase of 25 points since the last survey was conducted last March, while 33% ranked cyber-attacks as the number one systemic risk to the broader economy, up from 24% previously.

DTCC has also released a comprehensive white paper, entitled ‘Cyber-Risk: A Global Systemic Threat’, which identifies greater information sharing and closer collaboration between the public and private sectors as among the strongest defences to combat cyber-crimes. The paper finds that despite progress in this area in recent years, information sharing remains insufficiently coordinated.

“Building information partnerships among key stakeholders is critical to developing the most comprehensive and effective tools for promoting cyber-security across the financial system and in our critical infrastructures,” said Michael Leibrock, DTCC chief systemic risk officer.

“The best way to achieve these alliances is through a truly coordinated and open approach across industries and national borders. With concerns about the potential wide-spread impact of cyber-threats growing rapidly given the recent high-profile cyber attacks, our white paper provides a solid platform for greater discussion around this very real risk.”

In addition to the findings on cyber-risk, the survey’s other key findings include:

• Sixty-four per cent of respondents also cite the impact of new regulation as a top five concern.
• Sixty-two per cent of respondents identified geopolitical risk as a top five concern.
• Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said that the probability of a high-impact event in the global financial system has increased during the past six months – up 16 points since March.
• In line with these results, 76% of all respondents indicated they have increased the amount of resources dedicated to identifying, monitoring and mitigating systemic risks over the past year.

Additional details on the latest DTCC Systemic Risk Barometer results can be found here.

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