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Addressing Ransomware in the U.S. Financial Sector

The financial sector has become more vulnerable to cyber threats nowadays, as it relies more heavily on technology and the internet. The G7 Cyber Expert Group (CEG) recently issued two reports on ransomware and third-party risk in the financial sector. The CEG is co-chaired by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure (OCCIP) and the Bank of England. These freely available and publicly accessible resources are designed to assist financial sector entities in better understanding cybersecurity topics agreed upon by a multilateral consensus.

The Fundamental Elements of Ransomware Resilience for the Financial Sector delivers more significant building blocks for financial entities to answer the ransomware threat. One of the CEG’s Fundamental Elements, the document is non-prescriptive and non-binding. This document’s goal is to guide financial institutions, both public and private, to guide their internal ransomware mitigation activities. The report provides an overview of the G7’s current policy approaches, industry guidance and best practices.  Furthermore, the collaboration of the G7 jurisdictions in producing this report highlights global efforts to promote financial sector resilience.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software used by cybercriminals. When ransomware infects a computer or network, it locks it down or encrypts its data. Cybercriminals demand ransom money from their victims in exchange for data release. To avoid ransomware infection, it is vital to keep an eye out for telltale signs and use security software. Malware victims have three options after being infected: pay the ransom, attempt to remove the malware, or restart the device.

Extortion Trojans frequently use the Remote Desktop Protocol, phishing emails, and software vulnerabilities as attack vectors. As a result, a ransomware attack can target both individuals and businesses. The ransomware threat has grown in scope and impact and is now a pressing concern for nations worldwide.

The fact that attackers operate on a global scale to avoid prosecution makes it a global issue. Ransomware has spawned a criminal ecosystem that provides services ranging from unauthorised access to targeted networks to money laundering, all fueled by illicit financial gains.

The CEG also released an updated version of a report published in 2018 – The Fundamental Elements of Third-Party Risk Management for the Financial Sector. The G7 CEG deemed this revision necessary to keep up with the ever-changing cyber threat landscape due to financial institutions’ increasing use of service providers in central operational functions and the following vulnerabilities created by this reliance. The update includes explicit recommendations for monitoring supply chain risks, identifying systemically important third-party providers, and identifying concentration risks.

After being adopted by the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, these reports were announced by the Bundesbank in October 2022 as part of Germany’s presidency of the G7. They were published on the Bundesbank’s website alongside previous Fundamental Elements on financial sector cybersecurity, penetration testing, and cyber exercises.

The G7 CEG was established in 2015 as a multi-year working group to coordinate cybersecurity policy and strategy across the eight G7 countries. The G7 CEG serves as a vehicle for information sharing, cooperation, incident response, and policy coordination.

As reported by OpenGov Asia, Singapore also formed a Counter Ransomware Task Force (CRTF), an agency from various domains to strengthen Singapore’s counter-ransomware efforts. The task force brings together efforts to promote a resilient and secure cyber environment, guided by the recommendations in the CRTF report.

Ransomware is a threat to both businesses and individuals, according to David Koh, Commissioner of Cybersecurity, Chief Executive of CSA, and Chairman of the CRTF. It can be harmful economically, socially, and even in terms of national security. Moreover, ransomware is a problem both globally and across domains.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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