CybSafe has been selected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help shape guidance on tackling the human aspect of cyber security in the financial services sector.

The cyber security awareness platform has been adopted by the UK regulator to determine how it can measure and improve personnel security and culture within financial services organisations as part of its 2018/2019 Business Plan.

This will be accomplished through a blend of behavioural modelling software, psychology, behaviour change theory and advanced data analysis. Supported by cyber security guidance, formulated in partnership with CybSafe, the FCA will establish industry best practice as far as the human aspect of cyber security is concerned.

Oz Alashe, chief executive of CybSafe, pointed out that cyber attacks are increasing in number, scale and sophistication, and pose a credible threat to financial services firms. “The FCA is calling on financial organisations to demonstrate that they are doing all they can to address the human cyber risk.

“A positive cyber security culture can enhance an organisation’s capability to defend against, and respond quickly and effectively to cyber attacks,” he continued, adding “Both the FCA and CybSafe understand that cyber risk isn’t a solely technical issue.”

The FCA's latest Business Plan stated: “Over the next year, we will strengthen our supervisory assessments of the highest impact firms to better understand their current and planned use of technology, resilience to cyber-attacks and staff expertise. We will also review how governance, strategy, systems architecture, risk management and culture contribute to firms’ data security.”

The partnership is scheduled to continue for one year, with the guidance and updates provided over the period.

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