Dive Brief:
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The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors plans to audit how the central bank oversees cybersecurity procedures at financial institutions, according to the U.S. central bank.
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Cybersecurity efforts at banks are under growing scrutiny after several high-profile attacks, including a successful $81 million cyber heist at Bangladesh Bank, which involved, in part, hackers sending fund transfer requests to the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.
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The OIG said it will release the audit toward the end of 2016.
Dive Insight:
While previous studies have examined the central bank’s own cybersecurity practices, the new study may be the first to look at how the Fed is overseeing other banks’ cybersecurity efforts, according to a Reuters report.
Financial institutions worldwide face heightened cybersecurity concerns following several successful cyberattacks against banks, such as the breach at JPMorgan Chase & Co. where hackers allegedly stole the personal information of more than 100 million customers.
"The growing sophistication and volume of cybersecurity threats presents a serious risk to all financial institutions," the OIG said.
Earlier this month, a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that the U.S. Federal Reserve itself has been a target, identifying more than 50 data breaches between 2011 and 2015. In several of the incidents, the Fed suspected hackers or spies, according to the records, although it’s unclear if any foreign governments were suspected.
