5 ways a financial institution can shield itself from cyber attacks

MAS warned that the cyber threat landscape has been increasingly hostile.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Cyber Security Advisory Panel (CSAP) said there are five ways for financial institutions (FIs) to overcome cybersecurity challenges.

To create a line of defense, CSAP said FSIs should have processes in place to respond swiftly and decisively to new cyber threats arising from adverse geopolitical developments.

In relation, the panel underscored the need for greater cross-border cooperation, including swift information exchange, and carrying out joint exercises to test cyber responses.

The financial sector should also adopt a holistic approach in dealing with digital banking scams, especially because incidences of online financial fraud are poised to increase globally.

The panel urged FIs to further fortify the security of their digital banking services by implementing measures such as verifying and restricting the device from which a customer can access digital banking services; using biometrics as an additional form factor to authenticate high-risk transactions; leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for real-time fraud monitoring.

To mitigate cybersecurity risks related to the increasing use of distributed ledger technology (DLT), the CSAP said FIs need to continually monitor for new modes of attacks and upgrade their security controls to protect their DLT- based services.

FIs should likewise monitor the development of international standards on post-quantum cryptography, and begin the process of identifying weaker cryptographic solutions, said the CSAP.

“Developments in quantum computing may compromise present-day encryption protection and threaten data confidentiality,” the CSAP said.

Lastly, CSAP said the financial sector should harmonise cyber resilience standards.

According to the panel, financial authorities must work more closely together to engage public cloud service providers on their risk management controls and practices.