Cybersecurity and the Financial System: Why Global Cooperation Can’t Wait

cyber security May 01, 2025

In 2016, cybercriminals tried to steal $1 billion from Bangladesh’s central bank by exploiting weaknesses in SWIFT—the core messaging system of the global financial infrastructure. They ultimately made off with $101 million. This brazen breach shook the financial world and revealed an uncomfortable truth: we’ve been underestimating just how vulnerable the financial system is to cyber threats.

Fast forward to today, and the risk of a major cyberattack disrupting global finance is no longer theoretical—it’s inevitable. Yet despite mounting threats, international coordination remains weak, and accountability is unclear. Financial institutions, governments, and tech companies are often siloed, uncertain about who should lead protection efforts. As digital transformation accelerates across the sector, that fragmentation is a growing liability.

Leaders like Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and institutions like the Financial Stability Board have made it clear: cyber incidents aren’t just IT problems—they are systemic threats with the potential to destabilize entire economies. The costs aren’t just monetary; they erode public trust and confidence in the financial system itself.

Why the Risk Is Growing

Two trends are making the threat worse:

Digital Acceleration: The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the financial world deeper into digital territory—remote work, online banking, and fintech innovation. Central banks are exploring digital currencies, and traditional banks are in direct competition with tech giants. In this environment, even a single breach could undermine trust in financial innovation.
Increasingly Sophisticated Attackers: Malicious actors—from criminal syndicates to nation-states—are targeting financial institutions worldwide. Some, like North Korea, have stolen billions by exploiting gaps in digital infrastructure. The financial sector is now the second-most targeted sector for cyberattacks related to COVID-19, trailing only healthcare.

A Global Problem with No Clear Owner

While wealthier nations dominate the headlines, lower-income countries—many of which are rapidly adopting mobile banking and digital finance to expand inclusion—face growing threats with fewer resources. The 2020 hack of Uganda’s mobile money networks, which disrupted services for days, is just one example.

The deeper issue? There’s no clear global strategy or entity responsible for securing the financial system. Each stakeholder—regulators, banks, tech firms, national security agencies—focuses narrowly on their piece of the puzzle. As responsibilities blur and cyber threats evolve faster than regulations, the system’s resilience continues to weaken.

A Blueprint for Action

To address this growing crisis, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, released a strategy in 2020 aimed at protecting the global financial system. Its core principles are worth paying attention to:

Clarify Responsibilities: Align efforts across finance, tech, and government to create unified protection protocols.
Boost International Collaboration: Nations and firms can’t address this alone. Threats cross borders; our responses must too.
Reduce Fragmentation: Eliminate duplicated efforts and better coordinate existing cybersecurity initiatives.
Use Finance as a Model: Financial systems offer a rare opportunity for shared global interest, even amid geopolitical tensions.

Turning Strategy into Action

Key recommendations from the Carnegie strategy include:

Establish a basic supervisory framework for cyber risk in financial institutions.
Expand information sharing and create sector-specific emergency response teams (like Israel’s FinCERT).
Simulate attacks to test resilience and develop rapid response protocols.
Support international law enforcement cooperation, including sanctions and asset seizures for malicious actors.
Provide training and build a diverse, skilled cybersecurity workforce.
Ensure cybersecurity efforts don’t undermine gains in financial inclusion, especially in regions like Africa.

Why This Matters to Black Heights

At Black Heights, we’re committed to helping professionals grow not just in their careers but as informed leaders. Whether you're working in finance, tech, or policy—or aspiring to—understanding cyber risk is now part of the job. This isn’t just a tech issue. It’s a leadership issue, a policy issue, and a trust issue.

The financial system’s digital evolution creates opportunity and inclusion, but also opens the door to significant risk. Addressing that risk will require not just better tools, but better collaboration—across sectors, borders, and disciplines. It’s time for coordinated action.

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