A policy paper recently released by the G7 Cyber Expert Group outlines effective cyber incident response and recovery practices for the financial sector.
Chaired by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Bank of England, the G7 Cyber Expert Group found that effective incident response and recovery are dependent on cooperation – both domestically and internationally, between financial authorities, financial entities and relevant third-party service providers, as well as other sectors, like government authorities.
“In today’s deeply interdependent financial system, responding to shared collective threats in an effective and coordinated manner has never been more important. The fundamental elements of collective cyber incident response and recovery will be a useful tool for organizations to consider when reviewing their own incident response protocols,” G7 Cyber Expert Group co-chairs Cory Wilson, U.S. Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection, and Duncan Mackinnon, the Bank of England’s Executive Director for Supervisory Risk, Duncan Mackinnon, said.
The policy paper said a coordinated collective cyber incident response and recovery approach offers significant advantages, including increased information sharing and improved communication to contain the incidents’ impact, while contributing to the stability of the financial system.
The group said the policies are non-binding, high-level principles to guide further incident response and recovery arrangements across the financial sector. The goal, the group said, is to facilitate more convergence and compatibility amongst different approaches while allowing for flexibility and the ability to tailor responsibilities to national, sectoral or organizational needs.