Many of us take for granted the ability to withdraw money from our bank account, wire it to family in another country, and pay bills online.
Amid the global pandemic, we’ve seen how much digital connection matters to our everyday life. But what if a cyberattack takes the bank down and a remittance doesn’t go through?
As we become more reliant on digital banking and payments, the number of cyberattacks has tripled over the last decade, and financial services is the most targeted industry.
As we become increasingly reliant on digital financial services, the number of cyberattacks has tripled over the last decade, and financial services continue to be the most targeted industry.
13 million Thai personal accounts up for sale
According to a report by Statista, cyber security spending has seen a yearly increase from 2015, and is forecast to reach 0.07% of Thailand’s GDP by 2025.
However last month, Thailand’s digital minister asked experts to help plug gaps in e-commerce security after netizens discovered personal data from more than 13 million accounts up for sale on an underground website. The discovery prompted widespread criticism of Thailand’s e-commerce data protection system.
Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta said the stolen data includes names, telephone numbers, email addresses, and transactions of customers who made purchases through Lazada, Facebook, Line, Shopee and other platforms in 2018.
Cybersecurity has clearly become a threat to financial stability
Given strong financial and technological interconnections, a successful attack on a major financial institution, or on a core system or service used by many, could quickly spread through the entire financial system causing widespread disruption and loss of confidence.
Transactions could fail as liquidity is trapped, households and companies could lose access to deposits and payments. Under extreme scenarios, investors and depositors may demand their funds or try to cancel their accounts or other services and products they regularly use.
Cyber Risk is the New Threat to Financial Stability – IMF Blog
