Cybersecurity Response to Recent Wholesale Payment Systems Breaches
In February 2016, hackers stole $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank by sending fraudulent messages through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messaging system.
Three months later, hackers attempted to steal over $1 million from a commercial bank in Vietnam using a similar method. Since then, almost a dozen banks have reportedly launched investigations into possible hacks involving SWIFT. Coming on the heels of these investigations, last month financial regulators in the United States and abroad independently issued guidance regarding measures that can be taken by financial institutions and financial market infrastructures (FMIs) can take to protect against cybersecurity threats to the payments ecosystem.