The dynamic development of digital banking is accompanied by an increase in the activity of cybercriminals – the number of reported online security incidents has doubled in recent years. “We are fighting not with amateurs, but with organized groups of professionals, therefore – as the whole sector – we need to constantly invest in innovative security methods,” argued Błażej Szczecki, Vice President of Bank Pekao S.A. during the Retail Banking Congress.
Poland is one of the European leaders in the development of digital retail banking channels. The pandemic, its isolation and the accompanying restrictions on access to services offered traditionally have made us more and more willing to use the offer available online.
However, the transfer of much of our lives to the online sphere activates cybercriminals, constantly testing the resilience of the banking sector. Issues related to ensuring maximum protection of customer funds and data were one of the key topics of the Retail Banking Congress – a meeting of representatives of the financial sector held on 15 December in Warsaw.
The debate “Security of digital retail banking in the context of growing competition and threats” was attended by representatives of the largest Polish banks and financial institutions involved in counteracting online crime.
“We are seeing a clear trend of increasing threats in the area of cyber security. In the third quarter of this year, we recorded nearly 3,700 reported security incidents. By comparison, in the whole of 2018 we had just 2088 such cases,” Kamil Mroczka, director-general of the Financial Supervision Authority said.
Participants in the debate acknowledged the fundamental importance of cooperation between all entities comprising the banking sector in the effective fight against cybercrime. This is because it is in everyone’s interest to ensure the integrity of the entire system.