More worryingly, we have seen major cyberattacks occurring globally which caused disruptions to essential financial services and destroy savings or financial assets that the underbanked depend on. Financial institutions are not only prime targets for cyberattacks but bear tremendous fiduciary and legal, regulatory, and compliance responsibility to protect customer data and privacy. Safeguarding trust in the formal financial system is now particularly important for the newly included grassroots. In financial services, the push for digital innovation, disruptive technologies, delivery of more personalized customer experiences, and seamless access to consumers for more inclusion continuously introduces new threats. Forrester Research calls this dynamic an “epic” battle between privacy and digital innovation, and predicted that by 2020 financial services and insurance companies expect to generate the biggest portion of their total sales from digital products, services, or items sold online. Alongside this drive toward digital business, many organisations rely on legacy IT systems that are expensive to maintain and susceptible to more vulnerabilities, greatly compounding the cybersecurity challenge. Importance of cybersecurity The current chairman, president and CEO of IBM, Ginni Rometty had described cybercrime as “the greatest threat to every profession, every industry, every company in the world.” While cybersecurity used to be considered an issue primarily for the IT folks, these days it is an agenda item for the entire C-Suite. What has really changed? It is not just the frequency of media reports on cybersecurity breaches. If anything, these are merely symptomatic of a larger shift underway.

Mohd Adhari Belal Din: Cybersecurity – safeguarding the future for innovative financial inclusion Remarks by Mr Mohd Adhari Belal Din, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the "Cybersecurity: Safeguarding the Future for Innovative Financial Inclusion", Kuala Lumpur, 1 August 2017. * * * It is my privilege to welcome you to this landmark event – A very important policy forum for policymakers and regulators to discuss on the significance of cybersecurity in safeguarding the future for innovative financial inclusion. Intersection of financial inclusion and cybersecurity As digital financial services expands in reach, scope and scale, cybersecurity matters a great deal for policymakers and regulators with financial inclusion mandates. The fast-changing digital landscape has brought the financially excluded and underserved populations into the formal financial system, bringing about a positive impact on economic growth and stability. However the rapid paced innovation of digital financial services also opens up opportunities and incentives for cyber-attacks, which challenges the fundamental principles of information risk and cybersecurity management. Leaders must understand the risks associated with digital innovation, and balance the imperative to protect their organisations and consumers with the need to adopt innovative technology approaches. The likelihood for cyber-attacks and fraud is exacerbated by those who are inexperienced with formal financial services and unfamiliar with consumer rights. Low financial and technology literacy amongst consumers could translate to greater vulnerabilities and exposures.