The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has issued an unprecedented warning to the public to keep cash in their homes because of the increasing risk of cyberattacks, particularly from Russia.
The advisory, which is expected to be followed by advice to customers from individual banks in the Netherlands, warns: “If the digital payment structure is disrupted, then people will no longer be able to pay for goods by bank card or transfer money automatically.”
Many accountants in the Netherlands have also been reminding customers to ensure that their deposits are spread over a number of banks so that their total funds are covered by the deposit guarantee scheme, which has a maximum of €100,000.
According to the DNB, the Netherlands is “particularly sensitive” to “mounting geopolitical tensions” because of its dependence on international trade – which potentially increases its exposure not alone to cyberattacks but to the impact of sanctions “through loans to companies in sanctioned territories”.
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It said co-operation between the public and private sectors was “crucial” for improving the resilience of vital infrastructure such as telecommunications, electricity and digital banking.
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In that context, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act, DORA – which was finalised last year and comes into force on January 17th next – would be an important step towards better security by tightening the regulations for outsourcing IT contracts.
The DNB does not go so far as to say how much money it suggests members of the public should keep at home – under the pillow or elsewhere – but promises its advice will be followed by more detailed recommendations “if there is a problem with payments systems in the new year”.
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The use of cards to make payments first outstripped cash in the Netherlands in 2017. Nowadays, just 20 per cent of transactions are made with notes and coins. As a result, the DNB advisory has been greeted with surprise and concern.
The insurance industry association, the Verbond van Verzekeraars, warned that most householders were typically insured to keep €250 to €500 in their homes, but no more.
The Dutch family spending institute, Nibud, said people should have enough cash in hand for “a couple of days”, including for petrol if necessary.
Nibud noted that households in Sweden had recently been advised to keep enough cash for “a week’s shopping” at home – and this was loosely calculated as €167 for a two-person household.
According to Europol, cyberattacks such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks are big business in the Netherlands, from which many hackers operate “to order” internationally. A single hacker who is part of one gang that was disrupted recently is suspected of committing more than 4,000 attacks. Other members routinely committed attacks numbering in the hundreds.
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