The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has revealed that financial institutions worldwide lost $12 billion to cyberattacks in the last 20 years.

IMF disclosed this in its recent April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report.

The report stated that out of the $12 billion, a whopping $2.5 billion was lost between 2020 and the first quarter of 2024.

Accordingly, the IMF raised concern over the rising incidents of cyberattacks on financial institutions globally, which may affect confidence in the economic system and destabilize economies.

“Financial firms have reported significant direct losses, totalling almost $12 billion since 2004 and $2.5 billion since 2020,” the IMF stated.

“Attacks on financial firms account for nearly one-fifth of the total, of which banks are the most exposed. Incidents in the financial sector could threaten financial and economic stability if they erode confidence in the financial system, disrupt critical services, or cause spillovers to other institutions.

“Cyber incidents that disrupt critical services like payment networks could also severely affect economic activity.

“For example, a December attack at the Central Bank of Lesotho disrupted the national payment system, preventing transactions by domestic banks,” IMF stated.

“Financial institutions in advanced economies, particularly in the United States, have been more exposed to cyber incidents than firms in emerging markets and developing economies,” it added.

Citing JPMorgan Chase as an example, the IMF said the largest US bank recently reported experiencing 45 billion cyber events daily, while spending $15 billion on technology every year and employing 62,000 technologists – many focused on cybersecurity.

IMF added that cyber incidents are a key operational risk that could threaten financial institutions’ operational resilience and adversely affect overall macro-financial stability.