The Reserve Bank (RBA) has categorised the threat of cyber incidents to financial institutions and the broader financial system as high.
In its latest Financial Stability Review, the RBA referenced the recent Optus cyber incident, noting that it “demonstrated that there can be indirect implications for the financial system of cyber attacks”.
“This, along with a number of other large-scale cyber incidents over the past year, has highlighted the need for regulators and financial institutions to continue building cyber resilience,” the central bank said.
It welcomed the government’s action towards removing legal barriers to Optus temporarily sharing approved customer data with financial institutions to allow them to implement enhanced monitoring.
“APRA has instructed banks to tighten their controls further where possible to limit the risk of fraud. A cyber attack of this size has potential systemic implications, as an increase in fraudulent activity associated with the leaked information could undermine confidence in banks,” the RBA said.
It also flagged climate change as a “key long-term risk for the financial system”, one that will “need to be carefully…
