Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. The risks posed by cyberattacks loom large for the financial services industry, and blockchain can play a role in mitigating those risks.
Photo: Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
Given the increasing frequency of cyberattacks, financial regulators identify cybersecurity as one of the most pressing risks to the financial services industry. Moreover, due to the interconnectedness of the global financial system, a cyberattack at one bank may affect other banks and financial institutions.
These considerations apply with equal force to permissioned blockchains, which rely on ongoing interconnections. As the financial services industry explores the use of permissioned blockchains—which limit access to a particular ledger to certain known or trusted parties in a consortium—to enhance services and operations, industry participants should recognize and take into account a number of cybersecurity capabilities—as well as risks—relating to this technology.
