BaFin warns of looming cyberattack risk for financial sector

German financial regulator BaFin has warned the industry of the ‘very big’ risk of cyberattacks that could target the financial sector.

According to Security Week, the threat has become ‘more likely’ in the eyes of BaFin since the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

BaFin president Mark Branson highlighted that the risk that firms in the financial sector will fall victim to cyberattacks or that internal IT security incidents will occur is ‘very big and very present’.

He noted that in extreme cases, such incidents could damage the stability of the financial system, adding, “Are we prepared for a really serious security incident? If we are honest, we don’t know.”

Branson said the watchdog is monitoring the situation closely in cooperation with Germany’s National Cyber Defence Centre. In addition, he claims BaFin is keeping financial firms updated on potential attack patterns.

Security Week underlined that the alert identified more than a dozen hacking groups that were both parts of Russian intelligence and military bodies and privately operated, which present threats.

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