UK-based financial institutions have witnessed a nearly fivefold increase in cyber attacks last year compared to 2017, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Overall, the number of reported incidents to FCA increased from 25 in 2017 to 145 last year.
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UK bank cyberattack report
According to the FCA report, the investment banks reported the maximum number of incidents with 34 from three in 2017.
The retail banks suffered 25 cyber attacks in 2018. In 2017, the number of reported incidents in retail banks was just one.
The cyber attack data were received through a freedom of information request by the law firm RPC, reported The Financial Times.
The sharp jump in the number of reported incidents is primarily attributed to the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation in May last year. The regulation requires all the banks to report such attacks and breaches within 72 hours.
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By GlobalDataHowever, major banks and payment firms have said that cyber threats have drastically increased in recent times.
“We are seeing a lot more threat actors knocking at the front door . . . it ranges from individual kids to, increasingly, the criminal fraternity and national states,” one bank official was quoted by the publication as saying:
“You have to constantly improve to keep up and protect yourself.”
In April last year, multiple retail banks were forced to restrict their operations following sustained cyber attacks.
