Cybercrime has become an alarming problem for financial institutions across the world. Almost all financial institutions have gone through some sort of cybercrime. These can involve malware, data exfiltration, DDos, and phishing.
“Cyber attacks are something that is going to be around for a long time with the advances in technology.”-Josh Pandak
Cyber Security is an important factor for financial institutions, as they use a lot of technology and are trusted by clients to handle their personal information as well as their money. Allianz, which is a financial service company, discussed their ideas of cybercrime in the 2021 article, Financial Services Risk: Cyber Security Concerns Grow. Allianz touches on many aspects of cybercrime like why it is growing, the impact it is having, and what actions can be taken to prevent it. I think they did a good job naming the specific causes and required actions, as well as not underestimating the damage cybercrime could do. I think they could have used more information on how to prevent cybercrime and what to do when it happens.
Why has there been an Increase in Cybercrime?
In the article, Allianz mentions numerous reasons to why cybercrime has gone up so much recently with the main cause being the pandemic, which impacted many different aspects. Allianz discusses that the pandemic led to more people being at home and partaking in electronic trading. They say that 28,500 complaints had been filed over incidents that exploited stimulus funds and Paycheck Protection Program. Within the article, Marek Stanislawski, who is an Allianz underwriting lead states that “the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is making it easier for cyber criminals to carry out successful ransomware or extortion attacks.” Allianz mentions that improving technology and decreasing human error would help with cybercrime, but I feel like they could’ve touched on that more.
The emphasis they made on the pandemic impacting cybercrime is a very strong point because everyone was home and had to rely on technology to conduct work as well as having more free time to partake in electronic trading. This however is only part of the story. Before the pandemic started, it’s not like employees were not using technology and the stock market did not exists. I believe the pandemic forced people to learn new technology on the fly which resulted in more mistakes and mishaps then normal. Also, with everyone being home and on their insecure personal smartphones and computers that led to more uncontrollable breaches. Allianz is correct more individuals did participate in electronic trading, but he failed to mention part of the reason that happened was because of the crash in the stock market mixed with the amount of money being put into it due to stimulus checks. I believe over time once the world gets adapted and caught up to speed with the new technology, there will be less breaches and data stolen. The point they made about cryptocurrencies making it easier for cybercrime to happen is definitely true and is a real world problem that is still happening often today even almost out of the pandemic.
The Impact of Cybercrime
Throughout the article they discuss the countless effects cybercrime has had on the financial industry and their clients. In the article, they discuss how cybercrime forced harsher consequences of data breaches, with more aggressive enforcement, higher fines, and regulatory costs. Allianz also discusses the amount of cyber claims that have been introduced because the number of cyber attacks has risen.
I think the impact of cybercrime is greater than expected and talked about by Allianz. They did touch on the amount financial institutions have to spend to keep building their cyber security, but that is only a fraction of the cost they have to pay. They do not mention the repetitional damage, operational disruption, and the lost revenue. Cybercrime is more to the financial company than one big lawsuit or fine. To smaller businesses, cybercrime is something that can completely put them out of business.
How can Cybercrime but Prevented?
In the article, they noted the various actions financial institutions can take to fight against cyber attacks such as reducing human error through training and technology. They also discussed the new concept companies are using called the cloud. These are all very good options and some of the best points in the article. I think that decreasing human error will definitely allow for less cyber attacks, but there can always be breaches. I believe breaches can be minimized by adding in multi factor authentication, which will add another layer of protection to your most valuable assets. In the case of a breach it is important for companies to have a recovery plan in place just in case. This lowers the risk and allows for the company to rebound faster.
Cyber attacks have the ability to impact all kinds of professions and companies. It can impact small businesses, healthcare, government agencies, education, and energy companies. Cyber attacks are something that is going to be around for a long time with the advances in technology. Companies can only try their best at preventing them.