The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced, in a statement on Wednesday, that it has completed the establishment of an integrated information security center, which helps to predict cyber-attacks before they occur and warn banks of them.
The central bank said that the establishment of this center comes within the framework of the bank’s efforts to enhance the cyber security of banks and banking institutions and strengthen their ability to confront electronic attacks.
Gamal Negm, CBE Deputy Governor said, “The center that was established confirms the leadership of the Egyptian banking sector, as it is the first of its kind in Egypt, and will have a significant impact in enhancing the ability of banking institutions to confront cyber threats, especially with the expansion of the use of financial technology to achieve financial inclusion and digital transformation.”
Sherif Hazem, Deputy Governor for the Cyber Security Sector, stated that “the new center represents a breakthrough in information security in banking institutions, within an integrated system adopted by the central bank to enhance cyber security.”
He continued: “The system includes the establishment of a department to review banks’ readiness and ability to respond to electronic attacks, and to ensure that information security in banks matches international standards at the level of 3 main determinants, namely human capabilities, governing rules, and available technological devices and technologies.”
He stated that this comes taking into account that the standards and limitations included in the reference, which number about 400 determinants, are compatible with their international counterparts and at the same time practical, feasible and applicable on the ground.
Banks will be divided into three categories, A, B and C, according to their readiness to respond to cyber attacks, with rapid interaction with the banks most in need to strengthen their capabilities in the field of cyber security.
The “strategic and regulatory framework for information security” will be distributed to banking institutions next week, taking into account the observations and recommendations of major banks operating in the Egyptian market related to the new framework.
