Most Asia-Pacific bankers feel unprepared for cyberattacks even though incidents of cybercrime are on the rise, according to a survey by California-based Fair Isaac Corporation (Fico).
In a survey conducted at Fico's Asia Pacific Chief Risk Officer Forum, 64% of senior bank executives from the region said they felt unprepared for cyberattacks today despite cybersecurity being a clear priority for them.
The survey by Fico, a major analytics software company, suggests Asia-Pacific banks may be lagging.
According to a 2014 PwC report, cybercrime is the second most prevalent economic crime faced by financial institutions, and 36% of people in the financial services expect to be a victim of cybercrime in 2015.
Fico's survey shows that while cybersecurity has become a top priority for leadership, Asia-Pacific banks may not be up-to-date on the latest technology.
Just 41% of Asia-Pacific banks reported having cyber-incident response capability, while 34% of respondents indicated they had no such capability or were still considering putting it in place.
Another 22% were currently developing their response capability.
The survey was conducted at the 2015 Fico forum held earlier this year in Bangkok in which 34 senior risk officers and banking executives from 23 financial institutions took part.
"For many banks, cybersecurity is a shared domain of the IT and fraud departments," said Dan McConaghy, Fico's president for Asia-Pacific.
"In order to effectively combat ever-evolving cybercriminals, it's necessary for financial institutions in Asia-Pacific to connect fraud and cyber information, systems and investigations. This holistic approach is needed to limit damages to customers, systems and the bank's reputation."