On June 17, 2021, an online-meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on Modernization and Legal Reform of the Financial System (WGFMRR) was held.

The agenda of the event was devoted to the issues of information security of the financial sector. Representatives of more than 17 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) discussed the negative consequences of information threats to the financial system, methods and conditions for protecting against cybercrimes. The discussion was moderated by the SAI of Sweden.

The Auditor General of the SAI Sweden Helena Lindberg and Comptroller General of the United States Gene L. Dodaro addressed the participants with a welcoming speech.

“Information security and digital autonomy have acquired strategic importance in recent years. Information risks were identified as the main threat to the Swedish financial sector in 2021. The Government's task is to ensure the resilience of critical and digital infrastructures. In the new digital world, SAIs play a vital role in assessing the compliance of government organizations with modern information security requirements,”

– said Helena Lindberg.

In the first part of the meeting, the participants discussed the importance of information security and the impact of cyber threats on financial markets. Presentations were made by experts of the Swedish Central Bank, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), and the US Department of Homeland Security. Carl-Johan Rosenvinge, Director of the Financial Stability Department at the Central Bank of Sweden, noted that cyberattacks, by threatening the integrity and availability of information, can directly affect the stability of the financial system. To increase the stability of the information system, it is important to develop long-term information protection strategies, to ensure interdepartmental coordination and information sharing between stakeholders.

To follow-up the discussion, experts from the SAI of Sweden, the European Court of Auditors and the US Treasury explored the methodology and results of expert and analytical activities in the field of information security. Thus, Senior International Advisor of the SAI Sweden, Peter Danielsson shared the results of a study of the EU information security system. According to estimates, the risks to information security in the EU are “legislative gaps”, insufficient funding, lack of reliable information about cyber-attacks and no comprehensive overview of spending on cybersecurity within the EU.

The participants noted their interest in continuing cooperation on information security issues in the financial sector.