This week the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced the publication of the G-7 Fundamental Elements of Cybersecurity for the Financial Sector. The document, released by central bank governors and finance ministers of the G-7 nations, delineates eight fundamental elements around cybersecurity for the financial sector.

This release reflects risks to organizational stability that are associated with cyber threats. “Cyber threats present a set of pressing operational, reputational and financial stability risks facing the international financial system. Sovereign borders do not contain these threats, and accordingly, nations must work together to address them,” said Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, co-chair of the G-7 Cyber Expert Group.

The eight elements provide guidance on cybersecurity strategies and operating frameworks tailored to their specific cyber risks, and assigning roles and responsibilities for personnel implementing, managing, and overseeing those strategies and frameworks. The elements also call on entities to identify activities that present cyber risks and implement controls to protect against and manage those risks. In addition to covering how entities should respond to, recover from and share information on cyber incidents, the elements reinforce the need for a dynamic process of continuous learning, through which entities systematically re-evaluate their cybersecurity strategies and frameworks based on lessons learned as their operational and threat environments evolve.

While the elements explain the application to financial services, it is the view of the Department of the Treasury that the elements transcend sectors and can serve as a guide to all types of industries and organizations affected by cyberattacks.
 
For more information, you can read the full G-7 Fundamental Elements of Cybersecurity for the Financial Sector.

Jenny Burke, is a Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications with The Santa Fe Group, with key responsibilities that include advancing strategy to increase awareness of the Shared Assessments program, grow memberships, improve tool adoption and communicate all the combined efforts of our staff and members. Prior to joining The Santa Fe Group, she has worked both as an independent marketing consultant and in private industry in branding, digital strategy, website redesign, content management and social media for a variety of software, consumer and website clients.