At a conference at the Banque de France in Paris on Friday, May 10, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called for coordinated international action to counter cyber-threats to the financial sector.
“Today, I think that the main challenge we face is no longer awareness. We are all aware of the risk of cyber-attacks (...) What we need today is action and coordinated decisions”, he said in his opening speech.
In 2016, the financial sector was attacked 65% more frequently than any other sector, because of the potential for financial gain and access to highly profitable confidential financial data, said the Minister.
That is why global coordination and cooperation are crucial. And, in his view, the G7 is the right forum to address these issues. But the principles adopted in the G7 will have to be implemented much more broadly, first by the G20 and then beyond, he said.
France, which holds the G7 Presidency this year, will conduct a G7-wide cross-border cyber-crisis simulation exercise next month.
Le Maire also called for greater convergence of rules between the different countries.
“There is a risk that criminals target the weakest regimes – putting the whole global financial system at risk. Without a coordinated approach, we run the risk of failures that could weaken the entire financial system”, he said. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)