Experts Call for More Awareness of Cyber Threats at Banking Conference
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday
- Panelists at BFSI Cybersecurity Summit warn of increasing cyber threats to banks and financial institutions.
- Identity-based fraud is cited as a key concern for the industry.
- Trend Micro emphasizes need for increased vigilance in protecting against cyber threats.
Citing identity-based fraud as a key concern for banks and financial institutions, the panelists at the 2022 BFSI Cybersecurity Summit urged an increase in awareness and action from banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) companies as they were more vulnerable than ever due to their accelerated digitalization because of the pandemic.
The event, which was attended by executives, professionals, and consultants from the financial services industry, was hosted by cyber security software company Trend Micro on November 16, 2022. The panelists for this conference were from the information technology, banking, and financial services sectors in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
Accordingly, Trend Micro highlighted that companies need โto be more vigilant in discovering, assessing, and mitigating cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities,โ noting that in 2021, there were more threat actors that preyed on digital-first organizations, particularly with the banking industry being the second most hit in terms of ransomware attacks.
The cyber security software company further explained that this is due to the existence of larger digital attack surfaces on these institutions, such as applications, websites, cloud infrastructure, on-premises servers, and operational technology.
โBanks and other financial services companies are going heavy on digital. With consumers mainly benefiting from this shift, the number one threat for the industry is identity theft and abuse. Most of the fraud happening in the space is based on stealing someoneโs identity such as personal information and passwords, so banks should heavily invest in security models which focus on identity security and identity-based fraud detection capabilities,โ shared Trend Micro Vice President for Southeast Asia Nilesh Jain.
To take the discussion deeper, the panel session was spearheaded by industry leaders that talked about key topics in their areas of expertise. This includes; Amor Maclang, Fintech Philippines Association Executive Director, who went through a series of solutions such as automation and machine learning, amplified data processing, and end-to-end solutions to keep identities secure; Sapna Sumbly, BFSI SEA Regional Principal Architect, that shared the state of cyberattacks and how an integrated platform like Trend Micro One can help address and predict vulnerabilities for quicker action; and Damselle Acosta, Amazon Web Services Solutions Architect, which discussed the evolution of the cloud and the steps being taken to comply with BFSI security standards to continuously address the industryโs dynamic needs.
Moreover, Manuel Joey Regala, East West Bank Chief Information Security & Data Protection Officer, tackled the current cyber attacks affecting BFSI; June Vincent Gaudan, Department of Information and Communications Technology Chief Information Officer Corps Director, talked about efforts of the Government Digital Transformation Bureau to show how the Philippine government evolves with the private sector in digital transformation; and lastly, 1Kosmos Siddharth Gandi, Chief Operating Officer for Asia Pacific, discussed the timeline of how identity authentication has and continues to develop.
Consequently, Trend Micro also added that more industry-specific events will be held soon, โin a bid to continue ramping up education and mitigation in various companies so they can handle cyberattacks with information and solutions relevant to each industry.โ
What is Trend Micro?
Trend Micro is a global cybersecurity firm that aims to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Trend Micro’s cybersecurity platform offers protection across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints
In 2018, the firm identified a malicious Chrome extension called FacexWorm, which targets cryptocurrency trading platforms and spreads via Facebook Messenger. (Read more: Crypto Malware is Spreading and it is using FB Messenger Again)
This article is published on BitPinas: Financial Industry Experts Call on High Awareness vs Cybersecurity Threats for Banks, Financial Institutions Amid Digitalization
Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.