Financial Stability Board reviews cyber resilience in the Netherlands

Findings 

In its Peer Review, the FSB stresses that the Netherlands serves as an example in the international context. For instance, the organisation highlights the well-established tradition of cooperation and information sharing, both between Dutch financial authorities and with the financial sector. The report additionally praises market-leading cyber resilience testing initiatives, such as TIBER and ART, which are instrumental in uncovering vulnerabilities at institutions. Additionally, the Netherlands can boast of a national crisis management structure that ensures rapid coordination in the event of major disruptions. The FSB recognises that cyber hygiene measures are included in Dutch supervisory and regulatory frameworks. Supervisory examinations conducted by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and follow-up on the outcomes reduce the likelihood that a cyber attack will result in a disruption. In its report, the FSB acknowledges that banks, at the encouragement of DNB, have included cyber incident scenarios in stress tests to set required capital buffers. 

Recommendations 

At the same time, the FSB stresses that ongoing innovation and cooperation are essential to maintain financial stability in a rapidly changing world. In this context, the report includes three recommendations. First, regularly review and optimise groups established for information sharing between authorities and with the financial sector. Second, continue to support the take-up of ART cyber resilience testing at financial institutions. Third, move forward with efforts to establish national analysis to identify critical third-party providers at the national level. 

DNB welcomes the FSB report, which provides a comprehensive overview of national approaches to this topic. DNB will work with the relevant authorities to ensure that the recommendations are implemented. 

About the FSB 

The FSB is a global organisation dedicated to managing financial stability risks. On behalf of the Netherlands, both De Nederlandsche Bank and the Ministry of Finance are members of the FSB. Part of the FSB's work is to investigate how countries deal with certain financial stability risks, including cyber risks, by conducting country peer reviews.  

Such a review was conducted in the Netherlands this year, focusing on approaches to cyber resilience in the Dutch financial sector. In addition to DNB, the following authorities were involved in this review: the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), the Ministry of Finance and the National Cyber Security Centre.