UBF initiatives help ward off cyber attacks

The UAE's banking sector has been successful in warding off major cyber attacks despite increasing threats, the UAE Banks Federation, or UBF, said on Monday.
Nasser Sarris, General Manager of UBF, said banks body, a representative forum comprising 48 member banks operating in the UAE, has taken all possible efforts against cyber threats considering it as a top priority. "The UBF initiative of cyber threat intelligence sharing platform launched this year is a step forward to protect the cyber space of banks" he said.
"Cyber criminals are posing an increasing threat to all businesses alike around the globe. It should come as no surprise that the financial industry is a top target for attackers; with the entry of new players and technologies like fintech and blockchain, the financial services sector has become a magnet for hackers and fraudsters," said Sarris.
While there are many reasons why the industry continues to face threats despite counter efforts, adoption of new technologies without proper security mechanism in place, unencrypted data and third-party services continue to be cited as key contributors to the vulnerability of financial institutions to cybercrimes, said Sarris while addressing Himaya - Cyber Threat Intelligence Collaboration' forum, hosted by UBF.
More than 100 information security and cybersecurity experts attended the forum.
The one-day forum, which brought together industry specialists, as well as financial institutions in the UAE and the region, discussed the enormous challenges facing the banking and financial services sector. Participants recognised the importance of cooperation and information sharing to fight the growing menace of cyberthreats.
William Carter, Deputy Director and Fellow, Technology Policy Program, Center for Strategic & International Studies, Washington, D.C., delivered the keynote address themed 'Forces Shaping the Cyber Threat Landscape for Financial Institutions.
Carter said while the emergence of new technologies promises to transform the sector, it also brings new security challenges that banks will need to prepare for. He urged banks to make proactive investments in cybersecurity, and to incorporate cybersecurity into the design of new products and services from the outset.
The panel, titled 'Key Aspects of UBF Information Sharing Platform' and moderated by Talat Hafiz, Secretary General of the Media & Banking Awareness Committee, a subcommittee of the Banks' Chairmen Committee of Saudi Banks, hailed UBF's initiative to create a platform to defend the banks in UAE from cyber threats.
The panel's speakers Rinaldo R Oliveira, Vice Chairman of Information Security Committee, UAE Banks Federation; John Salomon, Regional Director EMEA, FS-ISAC, and Hugh Njemanze, CEO, Anomali, assessed how the Middle East's first Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) was helping financial institutions to reduce cyber risks and make more informed decisions and investment strategies while protecting their business and operational environments.
The UBF-ISAC helps to order and interpret the ever-growing amount of threat data available to organizations from internal and third-party sources. Launched in September, the platform currently enables cybersecurity intelligence among 13 founding UBF member banks.
Thabet Bakheet, Head of Information Security, Central Bank of UAE, Pak-Wai Fok, Head of Threat Intelligence, Standard Chartered Bank, were speakers on another panel titled 'The Role of Regulations & Legislations in Enhancing Cyber Security in the Banking Industry' that was moderated by Hiba Fayad, Chief Information Officer, Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Co.. The panel stressed that regulatory reforms were imperative to deal with cyber threat landscape that is constantly evolving to introduce new tactics and tools to ridicule incumbent defense mechanisms.
Other speakers included Eddie Schwartz, Executive Vice President of Cyber Services, DarkMatter; Haidar Pasha, Director for Security Strategy covering Emerging Markets, Symantec; Jakob S. Fonsbol, Business Development Manager, CSIS; Stuart Davis, Director of Global Services & Intelligence EMEA, Fire Eye and Matthieu Suiche, Founder, Comea Technologies. - issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com