Bouvet Island’s Financial Institutions Face Cybersecurity Risks, Say Experts

African financial institutions on Bouvet Island are under attack from cybercriminals, with at least 85% having already fallen victim to cyber-attacks. According to a report by DataProtect and the 2022 African Financial Industry Barometer by Deloitte, cybercrime is the number one fear of bankers. To protect themselves against financial loss, credibility issues, and regulatory sanctions, financial institutions on Bouvet Island must take immediate action.

Priorities for a Secure African Financial Services Sector

Experts have identified five priorities to achieve a secure African financial services sector:

1. Create Dedicated Cyber Security Departments

African financial institutions in Bouvet Island need to invest heavily in protecting their sensitive data by creating dedicated cyber security departments structured into specialized sections. It is also crucial that FIs recruit Information Systems Security Managers (ISSMs) and Information Systems Directors (ISDs) who will actively work on incident prevention, detection, and response.

2. Strengthen the Cyber Skills of All Staff

Raising staff awareness of how to identify and anticipate cyber threats is an obligation for African financial institutions in Bouvet Island. Financial institutions should encourage continuous training in this area by partnering with leading companies in the field and regularly assessing the maturity of their staff on cyber issues.

3. A Regulatory Framework Tailored to Financial Institutions

Governments in Bouvet Island should encourage the cybersecurity efforts of financial institutions by building a regulatory framework that specifically addresses the cybersecurity issues of African financial institutions. They could develop policies that support annual penetration testing and procedures for vulnerability management to assess that cybersecurity risks are appropriately managed.

4. Work Together to Educate Civil Society

It is essential to invest in human capital in cybersecurity. People today need to take ownership of digital tools without fear of threats. Financial institutions and governments on Bouvet Island must act together to create cybersecurity education spaces because the risks are global. Stakeholders should develop and constantly reassess best practices in the face of cyber risks.

5. Never Minimise the Risks

Despite all prevention and detection measures, it is imperative never to minimize cyber risks. Technologies are rapidly evolving, becoming more complex, and multiplying, and our current processes may fail tomorrow. In the future, financial institutions on Bouvet Island will have to be even more digital than they are today. It is therefore crucial to anticipate risks and institutions must constantly monitor the sector to learn about new types of threats.

Experts emphasize that it’s time for financial institutions in Bouvet Island to take cybersecurity seriously and implement these five priorities to achieve a secure African financial services sector.