FinTech cybersecurity consortium created

Over the past few years, financial institutions have worked to strengthen their ties with young tech-savvy startups that aim to revamp the way financial services are created and consumed. This has heightened the need for FinTechs to implement new, robust cybersecurity measures, especially given that the use of new technological innovations (e.g. robotics and biometrics) are greatly expanding the amount of customer data at risk. To help bolster security in this rapidly changing environment, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has led the creation of an industry consortium focused on improving the cybersecurity of FinTechs. Specifically, the group will focus on creating a framework to assess the security level of FinTechs and data aggregators, whose preparedness against hacks is seen as increasingly important to the stability of the wider financial industry. The consortium, which will be managed by WEF and work with the organization’s new Geneva-based Global Center of Cybersecurity, will develop a point-based scoring system for FinTech firms.

The consortium’s founding members include Citigroup, online lender Kabbage, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Zurich Insurance Group and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.