In recent years, several SWIFT member banks have been targeted by cyber fraudsters, resulting in accumulated thefts of many millions of dollars. Impacted banks in several different countries have been victimized, demonstrating that there are no borders when it comes to cybercrime and that any company can be targeted.
Interestingly, SWIFT has been in the headlines broadcasting each of these incidents, although the SWIFT network itself has not been compromised. The thefts have been successful due to security gaps in member financial institutions that were exploited. SWIFT’s response has been very proactive, but the reputational damage SWIFT has incurred (resulting from member security gaps) has been severe and undeserved.
As the world has gone ever more digital, the opportunities to create new products, new services, and better customer experiences have moved forward aggressively. An unfortunate consequence of the increasingly digitized experience, however, has been growth in fraud which can approach carriers from a variety of directions. Insurers are not alone in facing this, of course; higher transaction businesses, including banks, are further down the road of experience and adoption.
There was an interesting call out from the MetLife CEO in a