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G7 Wants Urgent Action On Quantum Computing Risks In Financial Sector
The G7 Cyber Expert Group, co-chaired by the US Department of the Treasury and the Bank of England, has issued new guidance urging financial authorities to prepare for cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing.
The group has warned that quantum computers, once fully developed, could break current encryption standards, jeopardising financial data and system security.
Although such capabilities may still be a decade away, the G7 has emphasised the need for immediate action, stating that financial institutions need to assess quantum computing risks and start planning for quantum-resilient technologies to safeguard future and historical data.
The G7 group has urged in its joint statement that financial entities work to understand the risks, develop mitigation strategies and adopt the necessary technology to secure the financial system against emerging quantum threats.
Commonwealth Bank Breaks Anti-Spam Rules, Pays A$7.5m
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has paid a A$7.5m ($5m) penalty for sending more than 170m marketing emails that did not comply with Australia’s anti-spam laws.
An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that, between 2022 and 2024, CBA sent 170m emails that did not include an option to unsubscribe.
Moreover, nearly 35m of these emails were sent to customers who either had not consented to receive them or had previously withdrawn their consent.
This is CBA’s second major breach of the anti-spam rules, after it paid a A$3.5m ($2.3m) penalty in May 2023 for sending 65m emails without an option to unsubscribe.
“The ACMA took action against CBA just last year for not delivering on their customers’ rights to unsubscribe from marketing messages,” said ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin.
“We have now had to take further action after this new investigation found that CBA had incorrectly classified millions of messages as non-commercial.”
APP Fraud Down, CNP Fraud Up, Latest UK Finance Stats Reveal
UK Finance has released its Half Year Fraud Report for 2024, revealing that £571m was stolen through unauthorised and authorised fraud in the first six months of the year. This marks a 1.5 percent decrease compared with the same period in 2023.
Authorised push payment (APP) fraud losses decreased by 11 percent to £213m, with significant drops in purchase scams, romance scams and investment scams.
However, online platforms and telecommunications continue to drive APP fraud, with 72 percent of cases starting online.
Unauthorised fraud losses across payment cards, remote banking and cheques rose by 5 percent, totalling £358m, while card-not-present (CNP) fraud saw a 26 percent spike.
Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said the fight against fraud cannot be won by the financial services industry alone.
"There have been some improvements made by other sectors, but their actions don’t yet fully match the scale of the problem, and more needs to be done to prevent fraudsters exploiting these platforms and networks," he said.
Klarna Steps In Following Demise Of Apple Pay Later
Klarna has announced that its buy now, pay later (BNPL) service is now available to Apple Pay users in the US and UK when checking out online or in-app.
The BNPL firm also said it will launch within Apple Pay in Canada in the “coming months”.
Klarna will appear in "Other Cards & Pay Later Options" when checking out on Apple Pay with an iPhone or iPad.
The move follows the launch and swift withdrawal of Apple’s own BNPL service, Apple Pay Later.
As covered by Vixio, Apple Pay Later was discontinued in June this year, less than 12 months after its full launch.
One of the reasons given was that Apple had decided to pursue partnerships with other BNPL firms, instead of offering BNPL services directly.
