The European Central Bank (ECB) will launch its first cyber stress test for banks in the euro area in January. The aim is to test the resilience of banks against serious cyber attacks.
The test simulates a scenario in which a cyber attack disrupts a bank's business operations. Among other things, the ECB wants to find out how well banks can react to such attacks, recover from them and resume normal business operations.
Cyber stress test for over 100 banks
Almost all banks directly supervised by the ECB take part in the test, currently 109. Of these, 28 also have to take part in an extended test in which they have to submit more detailed information. Banks were selected for the extended test based on various criteria, including size, complexity, business model and geographical location.
The ECB cyber stress test comes at a time when the threat of cyber attacks has increased. The war in Ukraine has further increased attention to this danger. The ECB wants to use the results of the test to give banks recommendations on how to improve their cybersecurity. This includes, among other things, measures to improve IT hygiene and the ability to respond to cyber attacks.
Goal: Improve cyber resilience
The ECB cyber stress test is an important step towards improving the resilience of euro area banks against cyber attacks. The results of the test will help banks improve their cybersecurity and thereby strengthen financial stability in the euro area.
More at the ECB