Shira Kaplan: «Arms Race of Banks vs Hackers»

Cyber expert and former Israeli elite intelligence techie Shira Kaplan says Swiss banks are making progress is fighting the threat of a major hack. However, some gateways remain wide open, she warns in a finews.ch-TV interview.

Switzerland's financial firms have made progress in fighting cybercrime, according to Cyverse co-founder Shira Kaplan. It’s clear that nowadays its much harder to hack into these institutions,» the 34-year-old entrepreneur told finews.ch-TV (see video below).

Spending for cyber defense budgets has risen dramatically, with Swiss firms mirroring J.P. Morgan's $500 million budget to enforce its safeguards. But fighting cyber attacks remains a daily arms race – including for budget.

«They're confident in their level of security, they’re ramping it up on a day-by-day basis,» Kaplan said. «The problem is that the hackers are usually faster than that so it’s a race of who is protecting themselves better.»

Digitization = Cybersecurity

The biggest risk areas emerging? Social engineering, employees awareness of scams such as phishing attempts, and risks from third-party vendors and partners, Kaplan said.

«Everyone here talks about digitization and financial institutions are investing a lot in digitization, but the success of this process will be tied to cybersecurity. If the apps and the user environment aren’t safe and cyber secure, it’s not going to work.»

The former elite intelligence agent is linking up technology out of Israel's flourishing start-up scene with multinational firms in Switzerland. Kaplan said she expects more than 100 transactions this year – up dramatically from a handful such deals in 2016.

Click here to watch the full interview with Cyverse co-founder and CEO Shira Kaplan