In 2020, average monthly fraud cases reported by FS-ISAC members have increased by 82%. The latest EAST European Payment Terminal Crime Report, covering the first six months of 2020, reported a 269% increase in ATM malware and logical attacks. As fraud attempts have skyrocketed during the pandemic and digitization of financial services reaches a point of no return, it is critical for anti-fraud efforts and cybersecurity teams to work together more closely moving forward.

Specifically, the partnership strengthens:
• operational intelligence sharing
• anti-fraud and cybercrime prevention initiatives
• malware analysis
• strategic partnerships

“The current pandemic has accelerated changes taking place in the financial landscape,” said Lachlan Gunn, EAST Executive Director. “Financially motivated cybercriminals targeting banks and other financial institutions have reacted accordingly and increasing our collaboration with FS-ISAC is an important step forward in the sharing of intelligence for the industry in Europe and beyond.”

“Accelerated global digitalisation combined with the growing sophistication of cybercriminals demands more sharing and collaboration in the financial sector, both regionally and globally,” said Lucie Usher, Intelligence Officer for EMEA at FS-ISAC. “This strengthened collaboration between FS-ISAC and EAST will further enable intelligence sharing to better safeguard the European global financial system.”
The partnership was formalised in November during the 3rd EU Financial Cybercrime Coalition (EUFCC) meeting hosted by Europol and FS-ISAC.