European Central Bank tells banks to step up defences against nation-state attacks

The European Central Bank is warning banks of possible Russia-linked cyber attack amid the rising crisis with Ukraine.

The European Central Bank is warning banks of possible Russia-linked cyber attack amid the rising crisis with Ukraine and is inviting them to step up defenses.

The news was reported by Reuters, citing two unnamed sources. The ECB pointed out that addressing cybersecurity is a top priority for the European agency.

“The European Central Bank is telling euro zone banks zone to step up their defences against cyber attacks, also in the context of geopolitical tensions such as the stand-off between Russia and Ukraine, the ECB’s top supervisor said on Thursday.” reported Reuters.

ECB warned that the rising risk from cyber attacks begun in 2020.

“We are asking [banks] to strengthen their cyber regime measures and look at a potential increase in attacks and the danger of these attacks going forward,” Andrea Enria, chair of the European Central Bank supervisory board, told a news conference last week. “We’ll also flag the attention of banks in relation to the potential worsening of global tensions that could indeed trigger more attacks.”

The European Central Bank remarks on the importance of training the staff on cyber threats, the central bank has also been running specific cyber drills to simulate cyber attacks against their infrastructure.

Enria explained that European banking institutions need more cybersecurity experts.

Enria told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach that ECB is putting “more and more attention on the ability of banks to ensure their security.”

“It’s a difficult area,” he said. “We are putting increasing attention to these areas and indeed we expect banks to strengthen their defenses.”

Enria remarked on the role of the ECB of warning banks of attacks that escalate due to potential worsening of global tensions that could indeed trigger more attacks.

In January, the New York Department of Financial Services warned financial institutions of retaliatory cyber attacks in response to US sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

Below my interview at AlJazeera on the risks of cyberattacks on European Banks.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, European Central Bank)

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