Those centres of the global economy are Ground Zero for attacks against banks, investment firms and other huge financial institutions. As the saying goes, why do criminals rob banks? That’s where the money is. However, powerhouse institutions are also extremely well protected, and of course, money can be found just about everywhere in the modern world. Hackers might find it far easier to infiltrate banks in Phnom Penh as Paris, or Lhasa as London.
In short: If you are at a bank or other financial institution in APAC, perhaps in a smaller country than the biggest targets in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore or South Korea… or if you are in one of those world-class cities but are at a small institution… you are vulnerable. Bank attacks are a global scourge, and if some think that organization is too small or too remote to be targeted, they are sadly mistaken.
Consider the recent SWIFT attacks recently discovered targeting Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam. In today’s massively interconnected and globalized world, the SWIFT attacks spotlight the risks taken by the banking industry by relying on a single financial system made up of banks with wildly differing levels of cybersecurity.
