ECB tests banks' IT security: stress test on cyber risks starts at the beginning of 2024

ECB tests banks' IT security: stress test on cyber risks starts at the beginning of 2024

According to a report by www.heise.de, the European Central Bank (ECB) is planning a comprehensive cyber risk stress test to check the IT security of major banks in the euro area. A good 100 institutes will simulate various scenarios for cyber attacks and their potential impact on business operations. The ECB supervisors want to identify banks' weak points and check how well they are prepared for these threats.

The ECB has been supervising the leading banks in the euro area since 2014 and will now pay greater attention to the role of IT or cloud providers in outsourcing IT processes to third-party providers. Due to the increasing threat of cyber attacks, the ECB supervisory authority is registering more attacks than before the corona pandemic. Banks will soon receive detailed questionnaires with almost 500 questions on the potential impact of cyberattacks to assess their contingency plans.

The impact of such a stress test on the market and the financial industry could be far-reaching. Banks and savings banks must ensure that they implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures, including prevention, detection and response. Automating the monitoring and analysis of security-related events is crucial for banks.

Banks and savings banks are expected to increase their investments in cybersecurity given the increasing threat of cyberattacks. In addition, the stress test could lead to banks reviewing and, if necessary, strengthening their IT infrastructures to address critical vulnerabilities and increase resilience to cyberattacks. The stress tests could therefore lead to an intensification of cybersecurity efforts in the financial industry.