EU needs common approach on testing banks’ cyber-risks: Dombrovskis

Reuters: European Union countries should test bank defences against cyber-attacks using a common set of requirements, a senior EU official said on Tuesday, as the bloc plans measures to boost the retail market for financial products.

Cyber attacks against banks have increased in numbers and sophistication in recent years, raising questions on lenders’ capacity to protect their customers.

Seeking to reassure savers and strengthen financial stability, several EU countries are conducting tests on banks’ security systems, but EU authorities warned national initiatives may be less effective and more costly than a common EU approach.

“We want to avoid a proliferation of testing obligations that operate in different countries,” the EU commission’s vice president Valdis Dombrovskis told a conference in Brussels.    

“We believe tests that meet comparable standards should be recognised across borders,” he added. This could pave the way for common stress-tests carried out at EU level, as suggested by EU officials in past weeks.