Financial Crime World

Cybercrime Wreaks Havoc on Lebanon’s Finance Industry

In 2015, Lebanon suffered a staggering loss of $12 million due to cybercrime, according to Abdul-Hafiz Mansour, secretary of the Special Investigation Commission. This alarming figure highlights the growing threat that cybercrime poses to the country’s banking sector and financial transactions.

The Growing Threat of Cybercrime

Mansour emphasized that cybercrime has become a serious digital crime that knows no borders, with international crime organizations often behind these types of crimes. He stressed that a comprehensive approach is needed to confront this menace, which includes providing legal and legislative measures and raising awareness among banks and financial institutions about the risks involved.

Lebanon’s Vulnerability

Lebanon is not immune to the threat of cybercrime, Mansour warned, as it faces direct threats from cybercriminals just like many other countries around the world. To combat this issue, he called for strengthened institutions and banks, pointing out that some draft laws related to electronic signatures and digital transactions have been languishing in Parliament for over 16 years.

Interestingly, Lebanese banks take full responsibility if they execute transactions via email without notifying customers first, yet they still managed to incur only 90 percent of the losses resulting from cybercrime. This is because there is currently no legal framework or law authorizing such digital transactions.

Combating Cybercrime

In a bid to tackle this problem head-on, a workshop on cybercrime will be held at the Central Bank on Tuesday, where experts will discuss a manual for investigating cybercrime in Lebanon. The goal is to develop a more effective strategy for combating this growing threat and protecting the country’s financial sector from future attacks.

Key Takeaways

  • $12 million was lost to cybercrime in Lebanon in 2015
  • Cybercrime knows no borders, with international crime organizations often involved
  • A comprehensive approach is needed to combat cybercrime, including legal and legislative measures
  • Lebanese banks take full responsibility for transactions via email without notifying customers first
  • There is currently no legal framework or law authorizing digital transactions

By addressing these issues and developing a more effective strategy for combating cybercrime, Lebanon can protect its financial sector from future attacks and ensure the safety of its citizens’ personal and financial information.