The topics of cyber security and finance do not seem to mix well, and the situation is direr than ever before for the US financial system. That was the statement SEC Chief Mary Jo White made earlier this week, as she feels US financial system cyber policies are inadequately equipped.
SEC Chief Fears For US Financial Cybersecurity
There has been more focus on cyber security in the financial sector than ever before, as there is a growing threat from hackers and internet criminals. When the SEC Chief feels something is very wrong, the situation must be very dire as it only takes one significant hacking attempt to bring down the US financial system.
Whether or not such an attack is imminent, is everybody’s guess for now. There are state-sponsored hackers all over the world who get paid to breach infrastructure in other countries, and crippling the financial system would cause a major blow to any region. Especially the US, as they are seen as the world’s leading economy for several decades now.
The SEC Chief voiced her concerns regarding the US financial system during the recent Reuters Financial Regulation Summit. Although she mentioned how the committee regulating the securities markets has been working diligently on preparing themselves for a cyber attack, the procedures used to do so are far from sufficient to protect against a major attack.
So far, the SEC has been making strides in weeding out misleading investment offers, non-compliance, and broken windows. While these steps are all pointing in the right direction, assessing the cybersecurity issues alone is not enough. There are so many different parties involved in the US financial system, and not all of them have the same level of security protocols put in place.
At the time of writing, it remained unclear as to which changes will be made to the regulatory system to ensure these cyber attacks will not have a significant impact. Moreover, technological safeguards are needed as well, as hackers will blatantly ignore any new laws drafted, especially when they are not in the same jurisdiction.
Source: Dark Reading
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