New York, NY, February 27, 2020 – SIFMA today released the summary of key recommendations from its biennial Quantum Dawn cybersecurity exercise conducted in November 2019.  This event enabled key public and private bodies around the globe to exercise their incident response protocols, both internally and externally, simulating how they would respond to global cyber-attacks. Participants included more than 800 representatives from over 150 financial firms, as well as more than 50 regulatory authorities, central banks, government agencies and trade associations across 19 countries.

“A clear takeaway from the exercise is the importance of a robust partnership between the industry and government grounded in information sharing,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president and CEO.  “While the industry, and firms individually, are diligently investing, planning and training to develop and maintain robust cyber defense and resiliency plans, no single actor – not the government, nor any individual firm – has the resources to protect markets from cyber threats on their own, nor do cyber incidents restrict themselves to one geographic region.  That’s why the communication aspect was essential to the exercise’s success.”

Along with SIFMA, Protiviti helped organize the simulation and prepare the After-Action Report with recommendations aimed to help the sector strengthen its readiness to defend critical financial services infrastructure from an array of cyberattacks and extreme scenarios.

Those recommendations include:

• Create a Directory of Critical Stakeholders and Key Contacts:
  • Creating a directory of financial services firms and key trade organizations, regulatory bodies, central banks and government agencies that would respond to a global cyber or physical event is a good first step for the industry.

• Conduct Periodic Exercises:
  • The industry should schedule regular touchpoints and exercises. These exercises could be a catalyst for developing global information sharing capabilities and incident response and recovery protocols for critical public- and private-sector organizations and contacts.

• Enhance Information Sharing Capabilities:
  • Enhancing existing information sharing networks, with organizations that currently manage crises in their respective jurisdictions, is key to building stronger cross-border information sharing between the public and private sector.

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SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate for legislation, regulation and business policy, affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.