From: Association of Corporate Counsel
Jonathan G. Cedarbaum | Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
As an industry, the financial sector outpaces other economic sectors in cybersecurity preparedness. Despite these efforts, however, cyber criminals still target bank networks, their executives, key employees with escalated privileges, and third parties with important connections to financial institutions. Criminals too often have ready access to sophisticated technology, enjoy the ability to organize and collaborate, benefit from a steady pipeline of talent, and generate enormous streams of illicit revenue with little chance of being caught. This “business model” needs to be disrupted. Foundational to the required change is improving collaboration between financial institutions and the United States government.
A vast and increasingly lucrative network of criminal organizations offers an array of cyber criminal services for hire. The network centers in Russia and many of its neighbors in eastern Europe, but extends into China, the Middle East, and virtually every corner of the globe. These organizations compete like other businesses, but they also collaborate, share ideas, and, like many other tech-based enterprises, innovate rapidly to develop new products and services. Malicious actors targeting financial institutions include: cyber criminals motivated by money, terrorist organizations with varied agendas, so-called “hacktivist” groups with political agendas, and even nation states bent on obtaining intellectual property or accomplishing a foreign policy objective. Banks must constantly adapt to the evolving threat environment, improving their agility, enhancing their capabilities and taking action on information shared by our partners in government.
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