The bank robber in a balaclava is a rarity in 2022. But the threat of the "invisible" computer criminal is all the greater. In the fight against international cybercrime, there is now the European Taskforce Resilience Technology Risks and Cybersecurity. Chairman of this task force is Eelco Dubbeling, director of the Nederlandse Vereniging van Banken (NVB): "It is becoming increasingly a boardroom task for banks to make operational cross connections in addition to an operational task to keep their systems in order." This article previously appeared in Bank | World Online (1), an issue of the Dutch Banking Association ( 2).
"It's a pretty robust task force. In addition to a number of fellow directors of national banking federations, it includes a number of Chief Information and Technology Officers from European banks. Also represented are the chairmen of three working groups of the European Banking Federation (EBF), which focus on cyber, cloud and privacy, respectively."
"Of course, we have had various European committees and working groups for some time. The reason for setting up this task force specifically is that we saw a couple of things happening simultaneously. First, crime itself: the robber with balaclava has virtually disappeared. Crime has moved into the digital realm and cybercriminals are operating increasingly internationally. In 2019, we saw 4,000 ransom attacks a day in Europe, 98% using social engineering. That means criminals fool you and trick you into sharing personal data."
"Not only the banks, but everyone - citizens, businesses - must be increasingly prepared against digital threats. Second reason for this takforce lies in changing geopolitical relationships. Think of some countries moving into cyber warfare. And finally, more and more European regulations are emerging that also affect banks. One example is DORA, the Digital Operational Resilience Act."
"This means that in addition to an operational task for banks to keep their systems in order, it is also increasingly becoming a boardroom task to make operational cross-links. To properly address these three issues, strategic cooperation is necessary and we have created this task force."
"We are looking at how banks and customers in Europe can better arm themselves against technological threats and better connect with our stakeholders. A good example of cooperation already exists between EBF and Europol, for example when it comes to information exchange and learning from each other. We want to extend that to more parties: learning from each other to become stronger together in the fight against cybercrime."
"First and foremost, we focus on the question, what is the impact of the changing world? And what is the significance of the shifting geopolitical relations? We are creating an environment where we can and dare to share strategic information with each other to protect customer and bank."
"I find that there is an awful lot of knowledge in this task force and a lot of work has already been done. My job is to tie that work and that knowledge together. A beautiful and important task, which gives a lot of energy. As chair of the earlier EBF Taskforce Brexit, I had the opportunity to learn a lot. In particular, when the going gets tough, to still stick together and create an environment where there is room to share and take everyone's interests into account. We are doing the same here.
https://www.nvb.nl/bank-wereld-online/europese-banken-bundelen-krachten-in-strijd-tegen-cybercrime/
https://www.banken.nl/bank/nederlandse-vereniging-van-banken
