In the current digital landscape, cybersecurity and cyber resilience concerns have become critical for businesses across various sectors, particularly the financial industry. The increasing complexity and prevalence of cyber threats pose significant risks to financial organisations, jeopardising sensitive information, disrupting operations, and undermining customer confidence. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the Prudential Authority (PA) have issued Joint Standard 2 of 2024, outlining the cybersecurity and cyber resilience obligations for financial institutions in South Africa. This standard will take effect on June 1, 2025. It will apply to certain financial entities at this time, including banks, insurers, stock exchanges, retirement funds, and investment fund administrators, and they will have one year from this date to achieve full compliance with the requirements set out in the Joint Standard 2. This Joint Standard establishes the foundational standards for adopting best practices and procedures to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats.

Understanding Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience

Cybersecurity involves the practices, technologies, and processes to safeguard digital information, networks, and systems against unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. In contrast, cyber resilience refers to an organisation’s capability to anticipate, endure, and recover from cyber threats, ensuring operational continuity while minimising the effects of security breaches. While cybersecurity focuses on preventing threats, cyber resilience emphasises responding to and recovering from them.

Achieving effective cybersecurity and cyber resilience necessitates a holistic approach that incorporates multiple layers of defence alongside various strategies and technologies. This includes deploying strong security controls like firewalls and encryption, formulating incident response plans, and conducting regular risk assessments. Financial organisations can protect their assets, data, and customers by emphasising cybersecurity and cyber resilience while ensuring compliance with regulations and mitigating the financial and reputational risks associated with security breaches.

The Six Pillars of Cybersecurity

Joint Standard 2 delineates the requirements for effective cybersecurity practices, ensuring that financial institutions are prepared for cyber threats and are capable of responding and recovering efficiently. The standard identifies six essential pillars of cybersecurity, which provide a solid framework for managing and decreasing cybersecurity risks:

1. Identification: Understand the organisation’s critical assets, data, and systems while identifying potential cybersecurity risks and threats.
2. Protection: Implement protective measures, including security controls, firewalls, encryption, and access management, to deter or prevent cyber threats.
3. Detection: Focus on real-time detection and identification of cyber threats using tools like intrusion detection systems and security information and event management (SIEM) systems.
4. Response: Contain, eradicate, and recover from security incidents upon detecting cyber threats.
5. Recovery: Restore systems, data, and services after a security incident while instituting measures to prevent future occurrences.
6. Governance: Establish and maintain a cybersecurity program that includes policies.

Best Practices for Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience

To enhance cybersecurity and cyber resilience, financial organisations should consider the following practices:

1. Enforce Strong Passwords: Utilise complex, unique passwords for all accounts and implement multi-factor authentication where possible.
2. Regular Software Updates: Consistently update operating systems, applications, and firmware to address vulnerabilities.
3. Install Anti-Virus Software: Use and frequently update anti-virus software to identify and eliminate malware.
4. Enable Firewalls: Activate firewalls to prevent unauthorised access to networks.
5. Utilise Encryption: Encrypt sensitive data both in transit and at rest.
6. Limit Access: Employ least privilege access controls to restrict user access to sensitive information.
7. Monitor Systems: Regularly check systems for suspicious activity and respond promptly to incidents.
8. Data Backup: Frequently back up critical data to mitigate losses from an attack.

Best Practices for Cyber Resilience

1. Develop an Incident Response Plan: Create a strategy for prompt and effective action in response to cyber incidents.
2. Conduct Regular Risk Assessments: Identify and evaluate potential cyber risks to prioritise mitigation efforts.
3. Implement Business Continuity Planning: Formulate plans to sustain business operations during and following a cyber incident.
4. Train Employees: Educate staff on cybersecurity best practices and incident response protocols.
5. Continuously Test and Improve: Regularly assess cybersecurity defences and incident response strategies to pinpoint areas needing enhancement.
6. Collaborate with Stakeholders: Share threat intelligence and best practices with partners and industry colleagues.
7. Invest in Cyber Insurance: Consider cyber insurance to reduce your financial impact in the event of an attack.
8. Stay Informed: Keep abreast of the latest cyber threats and trends to counter potential attacks proactively.

How can you protect yourself from Cybercrime

In conclusion, practising good cybersecurity and cyber resilience is crucial for both individuals and companies to protect their digital assets.

Here are some ways individuals can protect their data:

• Create strong and unique passwords.
• Exercise caution when dealing with emails and attachments.
• Consider enabling two-factor authentication where possible.
• Maintain updated software and anti-virus software.
• Back up critical data.
• Stay updated on new threats and vulnerabilities.