BOJ warns of cyberattack vulnerability ahead of Olympic Games
(Reuters) — Japan's financial institutions must guard against cyberattacks ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, with nearly 40% of banks and other firms experiencing attacks over the past three years, the Bank of Japan said on Friday.
The increasing threat of cyberattacks has prodded the Bank of England and other central banks to take action to ensure that banks, insurers and other financial firms minimize the impact of cyberattacks or technology outages.
In a BOJ survey conducted in September, nearly 40% of respondents said they had experienced cyberattacks, and more than 10% had suffered disruptions to their business.
Over 70% believed the threat of cyberattacks has increased since 2017 — the last time the BOJ conducted a similar survey — while nearly 60% said they have departments specializing in cyber incidents, the survey showed.
Still, about 60% of the 402 financial institutions surveyed said they were not able to secure enough staff to oversee measures to deal with cyberattacks.
"Progress in digital technology has led to a sharp increase in cybersecurity risks for financial institutions," the BOJ said in the survey.
"Cyberattacks may increase ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this year, which is a risk we must be vigilant to," it said.
Japan will host the 2020 Olympics in July and August.
