The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that financial institutions lost a total of $12 billion to cyberattacks in the last 20 years.
Out of this amount, $2.5 billion was lost between 2020 and 2024, according to IMF’s April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report released recently. This is even as the body expressed concern that the rising incidents of cyberattacks on financial institutions globally could affect confidence in the financial system and destabilize economies.
According to the body, financial firms, given the large amounts of sensitive data and transactions they handle, are often targeted by criminals seeking to steal money or disrupt economic activity.
Citing JPMorgan Chase as an example, the IMF said the largest US bank recently reported experiencing 45 billion cyber events per day while spending $15 billion on technology every year and employing 62,000 technologists – many focused on cybersecurity.
It added that cyber incidents are a key operational risk that could threaten financial institutions’ operational resilience and adversely affect overall macrofinancial stability.
The IMF noted that many factors contribute to the rise in cyber incidents. These, it said, include the rapidly growing digital connectivity- accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic – and increasing dependency on technology and financial innovation.
It added that geopolitical tensions may also be a contributing factor, considering the surge of cyberattacks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
To strengthen resilience in the financial sector, the IMF said central banks and authorities will need to develop an adequate national cybersecurity strategy accompanied by effective regulation and supervisory capacity that should encompass:
Noting that attacks often emanate from outside a financial firm’s home country and proceeds can be routed across borders, the IMF said international cooperation has also become imperative to address cyber risk successfully.
