translated from Spanish: Central Bank warns that cyber attacks threaten the financial stability of the country

The Central Bank (BC) today warned that cyber attacks are a threat to the financial system and urged private institutions to continuously review their security measures.
The report of stability finance (IEF) corresponding to the second half of 2018, the issuer pointed out that the risks associated with cybersecurity have acquired greater relevance in recent years and identified five cases in which cyber attacks pose a threat to the financial stability of the country.
The report stresses that cyber attacks can cause “disruption” in the financial services of the institutions concerned, whether banks or other entities.
Due to the interconnectedness between institutions, the disruptions could spread to the rest of the Chilean financial system, warned the BC.
A cyber-attack, moreover, can result in losses of “critical information” to the financial system, such as private customer data, and undermine the confidence of the agents in the system’s security, added the document.
The fragility of the Chilean financial system against cyberattacks was exposed last May when the Bank of Chile, owned by the Luksic group, suffered a $ 10 million computer theft.
In this context, President Sebastián Piñera presented last month a draft law to strengthen the fight against cybercrime.
The Central Bank considered in IEF it is “essential” to financial institutions in the private system review permanently if the risks of cyber-attacks are well managed.
“They are not only responsible to its customers by the commitments acquired with them, they also are part of a highly interconnected system,” he said.

Original source in Spanish