Cross-Border Cybersecurity Attack Simulation in Europe Next Week

May 17, 2019

A major European, cross-border cybersecurity attack will be simulated on the financial sector next month, according to a news report.

The exercise, organized by the French central bank under France’s presidency of the Group of Seven nations (G7), will be based on the scenario of a technical component widely used in the financial sector becoming infected with malware. Institutions such as the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have already conducted such tests, but the June exercise will be the first across borders at the G7 level.

The three-day exercise is aimed to demonstrate the cross-border effects of cyber attacks and the threats they pose. They will involve 24 financial authorities from the seven countries, comprising central banks, market authorities and finance ministries. Representatives of the private sector in France, Italy Germany and Japan will also participate.

The financial sector is the most common target of cyber attacks, accounting for 19 percent of the total, according to a recent study by IBM, says the report.

Ransomware and the propulsion of the extortion economy has rapidly eclipsed into a national priority. Recently, we observed the catastrophic impact of a widescale ransomware attack impacting gas pipelines and raising national gas prices overnight.