Financial Crime World

Delta Wall Cybersecurity Exercise Aims to Improve Financial Institutions’ Incident Response Capabilities

The “Delta Wall” cybersecurity exercise, conducted annually by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, is a comprehensive assessment aimed at improving the incident response capabilities of financial institutions. The exercise identifies weaknesses in their cybersecurity systems and provides recommendations for improvement.

2020 Edition: Identifying Areas for Improvement

The 2020 edition of the exercise brought together over 100 financial institutions to test their ability to respond to cyber threats. The results showed that several common problems were identified, including:

  • Inadequate vulnerability scanning
  • Insufficient risk awareness
  • Poor incident monitoring and analysis
  • Failure to specify cybersecurity requirements in outsourcing contracts

Despite these challenges, many financial institutions demonstrated good practices in areas such as:

  • Conducting regular vulnerability scans
  • Participating in external exercises
  • Developing arrangements for quickly detecting and analyzing cyber incidents

FSA’s Call to Action

The Financial Services Agency has called on financial institutions to prioritize the improvement of their basic cybersecurity management systems. The agency emphasizes the importance of strong leadership from senior executives and regular implementation of measures such as vulnerability scanning and cyber exercises.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSA is urging financial institutions to accelerate their efforts in improving their cybersecurity systems.

Addressing New Risks and Challenges

The FSA has conducted surveys on the challenges and risks associated with cloud computing and other digital technologies. The agency is working to develop guidelines and standards for the secure use of these technologies by financial institutions.

Priorities for Improvement

To ensure the security of their systems, financial institutions are advised to:

  • Improve their basic cybersecurity management systems
  • Conduct regular vulnerability scans
  • Participate in external exercises and drills
  • Develop arrangements for quickly detecting and analyzing cyber incidents

Conclusion

The “Delta Wall” exercise is part of the FSA’s ongoing efforts to promote cybersecurity best practices among financial institutions in Japan. The agency has set a deadline of March 2020 for all financial institutions to improve their cybersecurity systems, and will continue to monitor progress through regular surveys and exercises.