Bank cyberdefenseU.K. banks pass cyberdefense stress test

To bolster cyberdefenses in the financial industry, U.K. banks recently took part in a stress test to determine their ability to cope with a cyberattack.

Eighty-seven banks participatedin the drill including Barclays, HSBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland. The test was designed to determine how the banks’ telecommunications and Internet services would fare in the event of a massive online attack.

“We have designed a scenario that will test the ability of participants to respond to a concerted cyberattack on the financial sector,” the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said. “Thus, there is a strong focus upon dependencies on telecommunications and the internet as well as managing the return to business as usual.”

According to Sian John, a U.K. security strategist with Symantec, the banks performed well during the tests, which suggested that they had made cybersecurity a top priority.

“Often you see security being considered at the last minute rather than being engineered into projects and infrastructures from day one so it’s very encouraging to see an important sector like this taking part in preventative measures,” she said.

“Threats are becoming increasingly targeted and focused on accessing information that can be used for malicious gain or sold on via underground markets,” she added. “An exercise like this will demonstrate exactly how robust their systems are and where the vulnerabilities lie. It may mean they need to reconsider back up sites for example or rethink security altogether - whatever the results it’s a nice illustration that financial institutions are proactively looking to manage risk.”

The exercises also tested how financial institutions would fare in the event of a major disruption to transportation infrastructure during the London 2012 Olympic Games.