BANK Of ZAMBIA
CYBER SECURITY IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES
SECTOR WORKSHOP
SPEECH BY
DR. DENNY H. KALYALYA
-
GOVERNOR BANK OF ZAMBIA
MONDAY, 6th MAY 2019
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
Chief Executives of Financial Institutions in Zambia,
Representatives from MEFMI,
Members of staff from Bank of Zambia and other Financial Institutions
Distinguished Resource Persons,
Dear Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am honoured to welcome you all to this important workshop on
"Cyber Security in
which is being
the Financial Services Sector", jointly conducted by the
Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa
(MEFMI) and the Bank of Zambia. This workshop aims to discuss financial sector
vulnerabilities arising from cyber threats and risks and to develop the necessary
skills and tools to make the sector resilient.
Let me take this opportunity to extend a special welcome to our facilitator Dr.
Rukanda. I am sure the delegates will greatly benefit from your experience and vast
knowledge on the subject.
as you are all aware, Information and Communication
Ladies and gentlemen,
Technology (ICT) have over the years permeated all aspects of our lives and in
become the mainstay of the world's financial sector infrastructure.
particular, have
While these ever emerging technologies such as Digital transformation, Artificial
Intelligence, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Mobility and Mobile
Banking, have brought about efficiency and increased innovations, they have also
exposed the financial services sector to cybercrime. Some notable incidents of
cybercrime include, the attack on the Central Bank of Bangladesh, Russian retail
bank and seven banks in the United Kingdom.
The financial services sector is a key target by criminals because it is the custodian
of large amount of funds in the economy. For this same reason, the financial services
sector has to also deal with other types of risks, which among others include, fraud,
extortion, money laundering, illicit financial flows, market manipulation, data theft,
and currency attacks. With statistics showing an increase of cyber-attacks in the
financial sector, the importance of ensuring that our institutions are cyber resilient
cannot be over-emphasized.
Ladies and gentlemen, the financial services sector has to see cybersecurity for
what it is, a large scale operational risk deserving the utmost attention and thus
develop the necessary systems and cultures throughout the sector to deal with this
risk. Key to the development and operation of these systems and cultures is the need
to nurture talent capable of addressing cyber security threats through prompt
detection, investigation, reporting, prosecution and prevention.
Distinguished participants, let me also emphasize that cyber risks should be
viewed from an enterprise-wide perspective. ICT, Security, Operations, Credit
Control, Anti-Money Laundering and Fraud Investigation departments need to break
down the various silos to facilitate faster detection and prevention of cyber financial
crimes. No single department or function can be an island in this battle. In the same
vein, no bank or financial institution can be an island. One financial institution
brought down by a cyber-attack would impact other banks and could ultimately
destabilize the entire financial sector. It is for this reason that I call upon all CEOs
here present to ensure that Cyber Security is entrenched in our day-to-day operations
and strategic plans.
I am aware that other countries have set up Computer
Ladies and gentlemen,
Incident Response Teams (CIRTs) for various industries, including the Financial
Sector. It is high time that we seriously begin to consider setting up a financial sector
CIRT in Zambia. I believe that the CIRT would, not only assist in ensuring that all
financial institutions are collaborating and working as one in mitigating cyber risks,
but also enable information sharing. I am therefore calling upon Bankers Association
of Zambia to work with Bank of Zambia to ensure that this is achieved.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you the best and I encourage you to participate
actively during the presentations and discussions. Use every opportunity to tap into
the vast experience of the resource persons and your peers during these few days.
With these remarks, I declare this workshop officially open.
Thank you and God bless you all.