UBF stresses the role of advancing security in maintaining financial sector leadership at Threatcasting event organised jointly with Mastercard
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 18 December 2023:
UAE Banks Federation, the sole representative and unified voice of UAE banks, emphasised the importance of continuously improving the banking sector and staying up-to-date with the latest trends to maintain its leading position in protecting digital infrastructure and enhancing the security of payment solutions. The Federation also noted that it is critical to keep pace with the rapid developments and transformation in technology in line with the directives of the Central Bank of the UAE to support, accelerate and advance digital infrastructure while providing the highest level of security and cybersecurity.
This was during an event recently organised by the Federation's Information Security Committee and Information Security Advisory Sub-Committee in collaboration with Mastercard at the Taj Hotel Ballroom in JLT in Dubai to discuss future threats (Threatcasting). Participants at the event focused on potential future threats to cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
The Threatcasting event is a part of UAE Banks Federation’s continuous efforts to ensure a safe banking experience in light of the rapid technological advancements in the banking and financial sector, which makes it vital to anticipate potential future threats to know the most expected risks that can occur in light of the adoption of these modern technologies, and to develop appropriate solutions to deal with them.
Mastercard is working with futurist Brian David Johnso, Professor of Practice at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, and a number of economic, social and cultural experts and professionals in the public and private sectors to conduct workshops and exercises to develop practical models to anticipate and understand potential future threats over the next ten years.
The event saw participants from the various member banks of the Federation divided into groups, with each group to study potential threats and their effects on the financial and banking sector and the best possible ways to deal with these threats in order to ensure the safety of the digital infrastructure, and that customers are not affected by any threats.
Mr Jamal Saleh, Director General of UBF, said: “The UAE banking sector is one of the most innovative, advanced and technology-intensive sectors, as it is under the direct supervision of Central Bank of the UAE, which strives to develop appropriate policies and frameworks to keep pace with technological developments and provide the best services to customers in a safe and reliable financial environment. In this context, this event is organised to anticipate future threats and help the banking and financial sector to prepare proactively by developing future scenarios to deal with potential threats.”
“Collaborating with the pioneers of future sciences confirms UAE Banks Federation to keep up with the latest developments to maintain the leading position of the banking and financial sector in the UAE, as anticipating future threats (threatcasting) is one of the latest strategies in the world to keep pace with rapid developments, especially with regard to modern technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and quantum computing,” the Director General said.
Mr. Jamal Saleh added: “Hostin this event represents a continuation of our efforts to protect the digital infrastructure of the banking and financial sector, as we organised the largest Cyber War GamesCyber War Games event in the region last year, which is about taking a proactive approach and following best practises, to increase the level of security and protection of the digital infrastructure of the banking and financial sector and create a safe environment for customers by conducting a simulation of reality to learn about the capabilities of cybersecurity teams in tackling attacks and discover strengths and gaps through solving virtual attacks designed by experts in the field.”
He emphasised the remarkable growth in the adoption of advanced banking technology in the UAE and the high level of customer confidence in the banking sector. The UAE ranks second in the world in terms of customer confidence in banks with 84%. This motivates the Union to explore future directions to maintain these gains and achieve further successes so that the banking sector can play its role in economic and social development.
It is worth noting that the threatcasting strategy focuses on different aspects that can affect a specific sector. Thus, its application in the banking and financial sector contributes to the development of appropriate scenarios and solutions for fraud prevention, expected changes in the legal and regulatory framework and maintaining customer confidence by recognising and responding effectively to threats. This strategy also helps to provide the banking sector with operational flexibility in dealing with rapid developments and crises so that it can better protect its systems, data and the interests of its customers and promote a safer and more flexible financial environment.
