The Australian Banks are conducting fire drills for cyber security. Therefore, thousands of people who are working in the banks were subjected to tests that have the purpose of discovering breaches in the staff area.

The Australian financial institutions are ramping up their defences to criminal attacks, afr.com announces.

Experts on internet security announced during the Sinet61 summit in Sydney that bank staff must learn how to fend off external threats to data safety. The so-called cyber fire drill has the purpose of observing the reaction of individuals when they encounter a hacking attempt. If they will try to avoid it and if they will report it afterwards.

“We are interested in the number of people who click the link, but I am really interested in the number of people who report the event, which gives our specialists the opportunity to go and sort it out,” Mr. Glynn said, adding that banks are facing more sophisticated schemes.

“The threat landscape as we expect it to develop won’t be any easier – it will continue to be challenging,” he said.

Nick Scott, head of security governance at National Australia Bank, emphasized the role of the people in creating a strategy around cyber security.

Banks are also collaborating to share intelligence about cyber threats. “We don’t see ourselves competing on security – a hit on one of us is a hit on all of us,” said Mr Glynn.

In Australia, there is currently no record of the cyber-attacks that had taken place until now. This is opposite to the United States which, since 2003, forced all the companies to report their clients on any hacking action encountered.