The financial sector plays a central role in society, and advanced cyberattacks against a financial company or a payment system can potentially threaten financial stability. Companies in the financial sector have therefore worked targeted over the years to increase cyberresilience, both individually and at the sector level.
The geopolitical tensions continuously affect the cyberthreat, which is not only limited to digital attacks. Recently, there has been an increased focus on attacks using hybrid means. This can include, for example, influence campaigns, harassment, sabotage or destructive cyberattacks. There have been several incidents of undersea cable breaches, highlighting that the threat is real and serious.
”Strengthening cyberresilience is not only about making IT systems difficult to penetrate. It is also important to have a broad perspective on our dependencies and vulnerabilities, when it comes to, for example, telecommunication cables or central service providers," said Ulrik Nødgaard and continued:
”Furthermore, a key focus area for strengthening cyberresilience is the financial sector's work on contingency planning that aim to enhance individual companies' ability to continue business even in extreme but plausible scenarios, such as a large-scale destructive cyberattack.”
Contingency planning is also a focus area in Danmarks Nationalbank's work. This applies both in the oversight of central payment systems and solutions, and in the work with joint initiatives across the financial sector to secure the most critical activities for society. One example is the work to establish a society-wide contingency plan for card payments in Denmark, which aims to secure access to a basic consumption for at least one week.
In conclusion, Ulrik Nødgaard emphasized that a lot of good work is already being done, and the financial sector is moving in the right direction. At the same time, he mentioned that there is more work ahead.
Most recent presentations and speeches