The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that they will be working together to strengthen cyber security in their financial sectors.

MAS and the UK financial authorities will commence work towards a Memorandum of Understanding to signify this enhanced collaboration.

The collaboration will involve identifying effective ways to share information and exploring potential for staff exchanges.

Financial authorities in Singapore and the UK already cooperate on cyber security, both bilaterally and by supporting the Basel Committee’s work to develop the best practices for supervising cyber risk in banks.

BoE governor Mark Carney explained that the average cost of cyber crime for financial services companies globally has increased by more than 40 per cent over the past three years.

“Cyber risk is not constrained by geographic boundaries, making international cooperation essential to address this growing threat – this aligns with the work we are doing with a number of other countries to enhance global collaboration on cyber risk."

Ravi Menon, managing director of the MAS, added that cyber risk is a growing threat to the financial ecosystem. “Effectively managing this risk will be the new frontier in international supervisory co-operation.”

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