By CARLO BOFFA, EU Correspondent
Banks must invest more in artificial intelligence and put people who understand “all things digital” in their top ranks to counter growing cyber threats from malicious actors, a top EU banking cop said.
Lenders’ increasing use of digital solutions has multiplied the channels of vulnerability that scammers, state actors and cyber criminals can exploit.
“Banks and other financial entities now need to guard against features such as automated scams, synthetic identities and AI-driven deepfakes, which have made long-standing money laundering-related offences such as fraud, identity theft and forgery even more pernicious,” said Anneli Tuominen, a member of the European Central Bank’s supervisory board.
Banks also have to keep pace with innovation in digital assets and cryptocurrencies, which increases the speed, anonymity and complexity of vetting.
Tuominen said heavy reliance on third-party services such as cloud, critical infrastructure functions and payment solutions has created more pathways and links to customers that criminals can exploit.
“The recent surge in the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies to find loopholes in such channels of vulnerability has exacerbated these challenges,” she said in a speech in Helsinki.
Banks should draw up multi-year AI investment plans to strengthen cybersecurity controls, transaction monitoring and know-your-customer checks, she said. They also need governance suited to an increasingly digital environment.
“If banks are to successfully address the risks stemming from the increasing digitalisation of financial services, their management bodies need to have the collective capacity to understand all things digital,” she said.
She warned that digital advances are also forcing prudential and AML supervisors to act much faster and take a more risk-based approach.
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