Strengthening cyber resilience in the banking industry

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian banks are still a step behind in terms of cyber resilience.

This was among the highlights yesterday at the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers’ (AICB) Cyber Resilience Conference 2018 themed “Powering the Winds of Change: The Shift to Cyber Resilience”, at Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia.

As part of AICB’s thought leadership initiative towards building a more competent and professional banking workforce, the conference served as a highlevel forum to exchange ideas and discuss emerging cybersecurity trends and cyberthreats, as well as create greater awareness on the critical importance of collaboratively building stronger cyber resilience for the banking sector.

According to AICB chief executive Prasad Padmanaban, in an integrated financial sector with rapid technological advancements, it is not unexpected that cyberattacks are on the rise.

“Based on AICB’s cyber resilience survey findings, over 70 per cent of Malaysian banks still rely on their existing IT security or IT operations to perform cybersecurity-related functions and responsibilities,” he said.

“This indicates that cyber risks are still largely seen as an IT risk, not a business one. Therefore, there is a need to create a greater awareness on cyber resilience for the banking sector.”

At the event, AICB also launched a thought leadership and survey publication entitled Building a Cyber Resilient Financial Institution – Are You Ready for the Imminent Breach?, developed in collaboration with PwC Malaysia.

The publication aims to provide greater insight and awareness on the state-of-play in the domestic and global landscape of cybersecurity, with a strong focus on the shift towards cyber resilience and what it means for businesses as they reshape their strategies to be fit and ready for the future.

PwC Malaysia Partner and Digital Trust and Security Leader Tan Cheng Yeong said building cyber resilience is about enabling all lines of defence to be ready to withstand cyber threats as they continue to evolve, and to recover from inevitable cyberattacks.

“Critically, banks need to strengthen their cybersecurity posture by building a threat-led cyber risk management programme and advocating for better reporting of cybersecurity metrics.

“But 58 per cent of board members from the Malaysian banks surveyed indicated that the reporting of cybersecurity matters is still predominantly done by the CIO or CTO. For any transformation initiative to be successful, the responsibility lies with boards to push for a shift in mindset.

“Boards also need to give their full backing to cyber stress testing programmes so that companies have a clearer understanding of their defence capabilities, giving them the opportunity to plug any gaps before an attack occurs. Without the right tone from the top setting the foundation for trust, you’ll be hard- pressed to build cyber resilience effectively.”

Other substantive areas discussed at the conference included key issues and challenges of cyber risk, global regulatory developments, best practices and international standards of cyber risk management, and how financial institutions can further strengthen collaboration to sustain cyber resilience.

Speakers also shared insights into the latest skills and scenarios, particularly on hacking techniques and cyberattack methodologies. — Bernama