The entire Swift debacle has a lot of entities in the financial world on edge. Especially Swift, the payment network connecting a lot of banks around the world, is starting to take harsher action. Their latest plan involves the expulsion of banks with security standards that are not up to par.

Swift Punishes Banks Instead of Helping

An interesting and disconcerting statement was made by Swift chief exec Gottfried Leibbrandt

It is impossible to deny the level of skill most current day hackers bring to the table is cause for great concern. Especially the banking sector, which is lagging decades behind on cyber security, is facing a bigger threat than ever before. Taking harsh measures may be the only way out of this mess, albeit it would create new problems of a different kind.

Gottfried Leibbrandt told the media:

“We could say that if the immediate security around Swift is not in order we could cut you off, you shouldn’t be on the network. There are pros and cons to that. The pros are that it provides clarity that if you are on the Swift network you need minimum standards. I think the con is if you do it too heavy handed you could drive people to unsafe channels.”

Tougher security measures are direly needed for all banks around the world, yet it is much harder to achieve for smaller institutions. Budget restrictions and a lack of proper IT staff make it all but impossible for a smaller bank to defend itself against high-skilled hackers. Swift should be helping these institutions, rather than create a new elite within the banking elite.

At the same time, these proposed harsh changes are not entirely unexpected either. Alienating the smaller banks by cutting them off from the Swift network may be a bit too drastic right now, though. But the recent attacks are also throwing a monkey wrench into Swift’s expansion plans, which may need to be scaled back for the time being.

Source: Finextra

Images credit 1,2

If you liked this article follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin and altcoin price analysis and the latest cryptocurrency news.