Adoption and use of cybersecurity in the financial sector in developing countries

Abstract

Cybersecurity has increasingly become an area of concern for Financial Institutions. Banks and Micro finance institutions, have critical infrastructure, and are under attack by malicious intruders and players on a daily basis through various forms like deployment of malicious software, insider threat, and hack attempts all for financial gain with in the financial sector. Numerous pieces of legislation and policies on Cybersecurity have been proposed, ranging from piecemeal approaches to comprehensive policy packages. Issues addressed include facilitating cyber threat information sharing; requiring baseline Cybersecurity practices for critical financial infrastructure; creating a regulated standard for data breach notification; investing in Cybersecurity research and development, education, and workforce training; and updating cyber-crime statutes. Cybersecurity policy making should seek solutions that leverage the expertise of the Financial Sector and should be result-oriented and technology-neutral thus promoting the adoption and use of Cybersecurity within the Financial Sector.