The Voice of Canada News:

The Bank of Canada today announced the launch of a public-private partnership to strengthen the resilience of Canada’s financial sector in the face of risks to business operations, including cyber incidents. The Canadian Financial Sector Resiliency Group (CFRG) will be responsible for coordinating a sector-wide response to systemic-level operational incidents. CFRG will also support ongoing resiliency initiatives, such as regular crisis simulation and benchmarking exercises. These efforts will reduce risk and help ensure a robust recovery in the event of an incident. The CFRG will start its work in August 2019.

Led by the Bank of Canada, this initiative brings together the following organizations:

Department of Finance Canada
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)
Canada’s systemically important banks
Designated Canadian financial market infrastructures (FMIs), which include the payment, clearing and settlement systems

While the increased interconnectedness of the financial sector brings many benefits, it also means that an incident in one institution may spread to others and be amplified. Should an incident, such as a major cyber attack, threaten the operations of the financial sector’s critical infrastructure, the CFRG will coordinate the national response. Each member organization’s highest officials will be involved in crisis coordination.

While the increased interconnectedness of the financial sector brings many benefits, it also means that an incident in one institution may spread to others and be amplified. Should an incident, such as a major cyber attack, threaten the operations of the financial sector’s critical infrastructure, the CFRG will coordinate the national response. Each member organization’s highest officials will be involved in crisis coordination.

“We need strong controls within each institution. And we need partnerships between public agencies and the private sector to bridge any gaps in coordination, especially when it comes to cyber risks,” said Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz. “The CFRG brings together many of our trusted partners to work with us making our financial system safe and resilient.”

“Operational risks—including cyber attacks—are real, and they pose a threat to the payments system and in fact the entire financial system,” said Brian Porter, Chief Executive Officer of Scotiabank. “We look forward to working with the Bank of Canada and organizations across the sector to build a more resilient, more robust financial system that better protects our customers against new threats.”