A recently issued report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reveals that financial service enterprises have endured significant losses totaling $12 billion over the past twenty years due to cyber assaults.
There is scant evidence to suggest that this risk will diminish in the near future, prompting the IMF to advocate for enhanced international collaboration to safeguard the stability of the worldwide financial infrastructure.
Incidence rates have surged by over two-fold since the onset of the pandemic, with severe losses skyrocketing to $2.5 billion, more than quadrupling since 2017. The report highlights that ancillary losses, such as harm to reputation and expenses incurred for security enhancements, are considerably higher.
The IMF posits that the extent of damage sustained by banks, asset management firms, and insurers underscores an escalating menace to financial steadiness posed by cyber attacks.
In their study, Fabio Natalucci, Mahvash Qureshi, and Felix Suntheim, the authors, assert that nearly one-fifth of all cyber assaults target financial institutions, with banks being the most vulnerable.
While cyber incidents have not yet engendered systemic repercussions, events impacting major financial institutions can gravely imperil macro-financial stability through erosion of confidence, disruption of critical services, and the intricate interconnection of technological and financial systems.
Moreover, the IMF underscores that banks in developed nations face a more pronounced risk compared to those in developing economies. For instance, JP Morgan, the world's largest bank by assets, disclosed grappling with up to 45 billion cyber threats daily and expending $15 billion annually on technology to counter the menace of cyber assaults.
Consequently, the IMF advocates for intensified international collaboration to mitigate the perils posed by cyber attacks.
"In light of the global scope and systemic ramifications of cyber attacks, cross-border cooperation is indispensable in mitigating cyber risks," the report asserts.
