Managing cyberrisks is best done together

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Article tags:
  • Detecting Financial Crime

Unfortunately, cybercrime has become part of our everyday lives. At ABN AMRO, employees keep up their alertness to cybercrime using an online programme called ‘Sharp!’ Every month, this programme presents employees with cases, including real or hypothetical work situations, asking them what they would do in those situations. After they have selected an option, an explanation follows. There are new situations and dilemmas every month.

How to deal with cyberrisks is a key focus in Sharp! It has already proven to be effective in practice. Our employees’ average scores on how to deal with cyberrisks are rising steadily and the number of incidents is falling. This is why ABN AMRO has decided to make this approach available to business clients.

Keeping employees up to date

Research shows that one in five entrepreneurs face cybercrime at some point, and that over ninety percent of all cyberattacks involve the manipulation of employees through phishing and other tactics. Yet most companies have their employees take an e-learning course or a workshop on cybercrime just once a year. This brings about a momentary spike in knowledge and awareness, which predictably enough slumps again after a few short months.

Frequent testing of knowledge and behaviour using realistic work situations like Sharp! is much more effective. During one of our hackathons, the idea arose to share this method with our clients. Cybercrime is a risk for them, just like it is for the bank.

Cyberlearning

ABN AMRO Group Innovation subsequently looked into whether clients see a need for a continuous learning method to increase risk awareness, and it turned out that an awful lot of them do.

And so we developed a client version of our Sharp! programme, geared specifically towards dealing with cyberrisks: Cyberlearning. In the last quarter of 2021, we piloted this learning programme at a major client who also operates in the financial services industry. After a positive evaluation of this pilot in January, the client decided to start using the programme. Other companies have meanwhile also shown an interest.

A personal bank in the digital age

ABN AMRO has a lot of experience with cybersecurity. We want to use Cyberlearning to share that experience with our clients so they can combat cybercrime more effectively. In the future, we will expand this new service to include a whole range of topics such as sustainability and compliance. That way, our business clients’ employees can keep abreast of the latest risks, requirements, developments and solutions in these areas. Managing these kinds of risks is best done together. A personal bank in the digital age.