After Russian banks were ejected from the global payments system over the weekend, fears of cyberattacks on the Swift payment system are growing.
Seven Russian banks were ejected from the global payments messaging system over the weekend, including VTB and Promsvyazbank, leading to fears of Russian cyberattacks on the Swift payment system.
Several senior bank executives told the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) the threat to Swift could escalate if more banks are thrown out of the system.
Russia’s Largest Bank in Swift
So far Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, along with Gazprombank are still part of the Swift system because they process a large portion of payments from the west for Russia’s oil and gas. They have, however, been excluded in Switzerland by the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) as finews.com reported.
One financial regulator told the «FT» that while individual banks appear comfortable with their cyber security measures, a «hit to Swift would be very detrimental to the whole banking system.»
The level from Russian attacks has «risen considerably,» one cybersecurity executive told the FT, while another said that during war, Swift is the most effective place to attack given its nucleus of global banking.
