The number of cyber attacks against financial services companies reported to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has risen by more than 80 percent in the last year, according to consultancy firm RSM UK.
In 2017, 69 material cyber incidents were reported to the FCA, compared to 38 in 2016 and 24 in 2015.
The figures were provided in a speech at a financial crime conference in London, given by Robin Jones, the FCA head of technology, resilience and cyber.
The UK is dealing with more than 10 significant cyber attacks every week.
Last year the National Cyber Security Centre recorded over 1100 reported attacks, with 590 regarded as significant. 30 of these required action by government bodies, a number of which included the financial sector.
In his speech, Jones identified a number of areas where financial services could improve their response to cyber threats. These included focusing on basic hygiene, being better at identifying their critical assets including data, and improving their detection of attacks (eg, using monitoring software). There also needs to be a focus on security culture amongst all staff, through training and awareness and raising levels of understanding at board level.
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