THE SHIFT TOWARDS DIGITAL CURRENCIES

The global financial system is un-dergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by technological innovation, economic instability, and increasing cybersecurity threats.

- ANIL KAUSHIK

Recent cyberattacks on banking institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and financial networks—particularly those conducted by state-sponsored groups like North Korea’s Lazarus Group—have raised concerns about the vulnerability of traditional banking systems.

Cybersecurity threats to the financial sector have escalated in recent years, with state-sponsored hackers actively targeting banks, corporations, and digital assets. The increasing digitisation of financial transactions, coupled with the vulnerabilities of traditional banking infrastructure, has created a landscape where a major cyberattack could destabilise the global economy. In this context, international organisations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have proposed CBDCs as a “secure and efficient” alternative to traditional fiat currency systems.

Cyber Warfare

In the past decade, cybercriminal organisations linked to nation-states have executed high-profile attacks on financial institutions, often stealing billions of dollars to fund their governments’ strategic objectives. These attacks have raised concerns about the fragility of the SWIFT banking network, stock exchanges, and cryptocurrency platforms. Some of the most notable cases include: