Could a cyber attack cause a systemic impact in the financial sector?

Phil Warren (), Kim Kaivanto and Dan Prince
Additional contact information
Phil Warren: Bank of England
Dan Prince: Lancaster University

Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 2018, vol. 58, issue 4, 21-30

Abstract: There is not a uniform view of the link between cyber risk and systemic risk: some assume a direct link whereas others query the connection. Beyond nation states, the vast majority of independent cyber attackers are currently unlikely to have the capability to systemically impact the financial sector. The financial sector has a large number of environmental features which are conducive to a systemic cyber compromise. There are no current examples of systemic cyber risk crystallising and impacting the real economy but this does not prove an absence of risk. We conclude there is a credible case to link cyber risk to systemic risk in the financial sector. Recommendations for future consideration include: – Further development of the intelligence-led approach to cyber security. – Policy responses that seek to cut through sectoral, geographical and public/private boundaries. – Organisations should accept that compromises are likely to happen and therefore prioritise response and recovery activities. – Undertake further studies to better understand the relationship between data integrity and authenticity, trust in financial services and the potential for real-economy impact via a cyber attack. – A specific focus on risks associated with third-party dependencies.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin ... the-financial-sector Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:boe:qbullt:0245

Access Statistics for this article

Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin is currently edited by Lindsey Fowler

More articles in Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin from Bank of England Publications Group Bank of England Threadneedle Street London EC2R 8AH. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Publications Group ().