ECB to test European banks’ cyber resilience

On January 3, 2024, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the launch of a cyber stress test for 108 large European banks. It will “assess how banks respond to and recover from a cyberattack, rather than their ability to prevent it,” explains the ECB press release.

Among the test participants, 28 banks, selected according to geographical area and business model, will have to “submit additional data on how they dealt with the cyberattack,” points out the ECB.

The test results, which are mainly qualitative, will be available in the summer of 2024. The ECB explains they will have no impact on the level of capital required from each bank to mitigate its financial risk. The exercise will take place amidst a global increase in cyberattacks, particularly DDoS and ransomware attacks, against banks.