Banking institute, cyber firm collaborate on security
As per Accenture’s report in 2023, cyber-resilient CEOs are already seeing healthier financials with security investments – 16% on incremental revenue growth and 21% on cost control measures. photo: file
The National Institute of Banking and Finance-Pakistan (NIBAF) and Risk Associates have formalised a landmark partnership through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and compliance readiness of the financial sector.
The agreement was signed by Lubna Farooq Malik, Co-CEO of NIBAF-Pakistan and Dr Aftab Rizvi, CEO of Risk Associates.
The MoU establishes a strategic framework through which both institutions will collaborate to develop and deliver advanced training programmes, advisory services and capacity-building initiatives focused on cyber risk, governance, digital forensics and compliance with international standards including the PCI DSS and ISO/IEC 27001.
Lubna Malik, while emphasising the critical significance of cyber risk for the financial industry, observed that the financial industry stands at the forefront of profound digital transformation and, consequently, must also be at the very forefront of protecting itself. In this context, she highlighted that the collaboration between NIBAF and Risk Associates would benefit industry professionals, especially in the banking sector, by enhancing their cybersecurity skills and knowledge through capacity building.
Risk Associates CEO Dr Aftab Rizvi remarked that static defences are no longer enough in today's regulatory climate. Through this partnership, both sides aim to embed technically rigorous frameworks.