In this sense, technological evolutions have allowed to address some of the operational risks inherent to financial activities, especially to curb operating errors in processes (representing a significant source of losses relative to operational risks). From this point of view, cyber-activities are a source of economic growth and progress, being essential for the financial sector. However, despite the fact that internet development and electronic transactions growth allowed a better control of operational risks due to diminishing human or operating errors factors, it also triggered the emergence of new risks. The rapid expansion of networks and technologies, the opening of IT systems to external exchanges, the growing amount of electronic transactions have caused the emergence of a new type of crime called “Cybercrime”. The financial sector is indeed an attractive target for cybercriminals: an American study1 led by Symantec shows that the finance and insurance sector is among the principal sectors affected by cyber-attacks, just behind Public Administration. This of course has not remained unnoticed by supervisory authorities which have taken already a number of steps to help the industry address the issue but in so doing face a number of difficult issues. I. Indeed guidance from supervisory authorities, like the Guidance on operational risk issued by the Basel Committee, published in 20112, point out that prevention and proper management of this risk is a financial stability issue to the extent that operational failures can be a source of systemic risk. 1  Internet Security Threat Report 2014 http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/other_resources/bistr_main_report_v19_21291018.en-us.pdf.

Robert Ophèle: Cyber security in the financial sector Opening speech by Mr Robert Ophèle, Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, at the Conference “Cyber security in the financial sector”, Paris, 17 June 2014. *  *  *  Emmanuelle Assouan, Frédéric Hervo, Claudine Hurman, Caroline Keribin, Clément Martin and Axel Petitprez have also contributed to the preparation of this speech. Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to introduce this conference about cyber-security in the financial sector. This issue could be considered in the first place as very technical, the type of issue that has to be addressed only within a limited forum of experts. This would be an error and on the contrary, it is key that public authorities, including central banks, dedicate sufficient attention to cyber-security, given its system-wide implications notably for the functioning of the financial system. Over the past decade, the financial sector has changed considerably with the emergence of the Internet and the use of new information technologies. The market has been able to innovate and improve the quality, the performance and the efficiency of services such as online banking, mobile payments, and settlement platforms. Public authorities have indeed encouraged dematerialization in the financial sector to foster economic growth and also to reduce the operational risks inherent in previously non-automated processes. For example, the new European regulation on Central Securities Depositories requires using dematerialized securities and promotes automated and straight-through processes in securities settlement systems.