At the CommBank Brighter Futures Dinner, experts gathered to discuss strategies for securing the digital landscape, emphasising a collaborative approach to cybersecurity.
Andrew Hinchliff (pictured above), group executive for institutional banking and markets, highlighted CommBank’s extensive efforts to counter cyber threats.
“Our cyber defence team now analyses approximately 400 billion signals each week,” Hinchliff said, adding that recent investments of $800 million have reduced consumer fraud by 50%.
Hinchliff highlighted the importance of collaboration in combating cyber risks.
“Achieving a secure digital environment requires an ecosystem-wide approach, with all industries and companies working together to combat cyber fraud and scams,” he said.
Futurist Brian David Johnson encouraged leaders to embed innovation into their teams, empowering employees to explore and address complex scenarios through collaboration.
“How are you enabling your teams to innovate?” Johnson said, urging leaders to support creative problem-solving.
Johnson explained the value of “threat casting” to understand security from an attacker’s view.
“We model a person experiencing a threat from multiple angles, allowing us to embody the mindset of an attacker,” he said, underscoring how adopting both defensive and offensive strategies strengthens cybersecurity.
Andrew Pade, CommBank’s general manager of cyber defence, discussed the proactive measures taken through data synthesis and internal simulations.
“Our red and blue teams simulate attacks on our systems to address vulnerabilities proactively,” Pade said, highlighting techniques to detect “unknown unknowns” in potential threats.
Kate Crous, executive general manager of everyday business banking, stressed the rising importance of AI in detecting fraud, noting that scams cost Australians $2.7 billion last year.
“Scammers are reaching consumers through various channels... AI and deepfake technology need to be considered in all forms of protection,” Crous said.
CommBank’s Ethan Teas discussed security challenges with fast payments, emphasising the importance of linking payments to verified identities.
“With real-time payments comes real-time risk,” Teas said, noting the bank’s NameCheck technology has already saved over $400 million in mistaken payments and scams.
Crous highlighted the potential of data sharing through the Australian Financial Crime Exchange (AFCX) to combat fraud.
“By sharing data across sectors, we could block scams before they reach customers,” she said, envisioning a collaborative approach to making Australia a hostile environment for scammers.
Teas discussed the delicate balance between collaboration and competition in the banking industry.
“We aim for collaboration at the infrastructure level – setting common standards – while remaining competitive in innovation,” he said, pointing to global efforts in creating resilient systems for the financial sector.
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