Full course description
The global IT outage that occurred in July 2024 was the result of flawed execution of an IT patch by the world’s largest cyber security provider, CrowdStrike. The flawed execution affected an estimated 8.5 million Microsoft Windows PCs which translated to an estimated loss of over $1 billion due to the impact on airports, hospitals, businesses, etc. Although the incident was not a cybersecurity attack, it was a cyber alarm that reminded us of the systemic vulnerability of a cybersecurity incident. The proliferation of technology, pace of digital transformation, and invasion of technological innovation have intensified our cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The Centre for Cybersecurity reported that the global financial sector experienced more than 20,000 reported cybersecurity incidents since 2000 that resulted in more than $12 billion in direct losses to financial firms. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has added that banks are the targeted entities in the financial system, which is the second largest victim, to healthcare entities. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received 3.26 million complaints about cyberattacks between 2018 and 2022 of which almost 1 million occurred in 2022. IBM reported in 2023 that financial firms lose an average $5.9 million per data breaches. Cybersecurity threats are real, unyielding, and evolving. As a result, all stakeholders, including, financial institutions, regulators and consumers must execute their roles effectively in protecting the financial system.