Cyber-attacks biggest risk for Swiss banks: watchdog

BERN (Reuters) - Cyber-attacks pose the biggest threat to the Swiss financial system with risks from hacking incursions on the rise, watchdog FINMA warned on Tuesday.

“The risks connected with these attacks are growing in sync with the pace of global digitalization. Cyber-attacks are now the most serious operational hazard facing the financial system, and both the private sector and public authorities should take them extremely seriously,” FINMA Chief Executive Mark Branson said in remarks prepared for a news conference.

He said on the whole Swiss banks seemed aware of the risks and well equipped to deal with them.

Branson also expressed concern about the concentration of outsourced business processes by banks. “We expect to see here the same standards as the financial institutions themselves,” he said, adding FINMA had begun carrying out systematic checks of banks’ outsourcing partners.