Ms Layla Alqassab, Chief Financial Officer at The Benefit Company, emphasized that security threats within banks and financial services companies were progressively expanding as the world witness the growth and advancement of technology today. This places these enterprises in danger and necessitates the deployment of cybersecurity measures within their system.
This was stated during Ms Alqassab’s participation as a key speaker in a seminar organized by NGN International, a Bahraini IT systems integrator and security services provider, under the topic “How to secure your cybersecurity budget?” and came within the activities of “NGN Majlis” to promote cybersecurity awareness among various public and private sector entities.
During her participation at the seminar, Ms Alqassab said: “It is necessary to create a cybersecurity strategy that is customized to the needs of the organizations to enable them to operate safely, tackle cyber threats and demonstrate flexibility, speed, and a consistent approach when any breaches occur. Yet, financial limitations, the IT team’s failure to keep up with existing and emerging risks, and a lack of synergy between the financial and technical aspects might hinder the growth of cybersecurity.”
“Within the Organization, the teams responsible for technology and information security and finance must have a thorough grasp of one another’s roles and responsibilities. As a result, there will be a certain level of integration between the two departments, which will enable them to work together on problems and challenges that demand simultaneous financial and technological involvement. Such as the problems of cyber-attacks that disrupt the work of the organization as a whole.”
According to Ms Alqassab, research by the International Monetary Fund shows that by 2025, cyber-attacks will cost the world’s banks 9% of their total global revenue, or $ 100 billion. This urges all divisions within banks and other financial institutions to take proactive measures to prevent and tackle cyber-attacks and to implement practical solutions.
“The organization can drop some superfluous operations for which the financial management team allocates a specified budget. However, when it comes to cybersecurity, we are talking about enormous potential risks that could completely devastate the organization. As a result, every organization or startup needs to allocate a suitable budget for cybersecurity.” Ms Alqassab concluded.