JSC ProCredit Bank became a partner of the #CybersecurityFinance payment security campaign organised by the National Bank and the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection

On 30 May 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine and the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine will launch an all-Ukrainian information campaign on payment security called #CybersecurityFinance.

Its goal is to raise public awareness of payment security and help the population develop skills to protect their financial data in the virtual space.

Today’s full-scale war continues not only on the battlefield, but also in cyberspace, with an increase in cyber fraud and cybercrime.

At the end of last year, the NBU, with the support of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project, conducted the first nationally representative survey of the Ukrainian population on payment security and fraud prevention. Its goal was to determine the level of knowledge of Ukrainians in the field of payment security and to identify gaps in this area. The NBU uses the results of the survey to develop educational products for different age groups and to improve the effectiveness of information campaigns to combat payment and cyber fraud (the results are not published to avoid the possibility of fraudsters using them).

Social engineering continues to be the most popular method of payment card fraud in Ukraine, as well as globally. At the same time, a significant amount of cyber fraud last year was carried out using phishing techniques. By means of phishing instruments (disguised as government portals and information resources of Ukrainian banks and payment services), criminals deceive users to gain access to their personal data, information about their payment instruments, financial account numbers and account balances.

Therefore, improving citizens’ knowledge and skills in this area will enable them to use cashless payments more cautiously and protect themselves from fraudulent schemes and traps in the virtual space.

“Almost a quarter of financial services users (26%) have faced payment fraud attempts, and 3% of them have lost money. It is clear that more active consumers, who use the Internet and Internet banking more often and make online purchases, are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters. Therefore, everyone, even experienced users, should improve their cybersecurity knowledge. In particular, it is imperative to increase personal cyber awareness of the rules for securing accounts, moderating the use of public Wi-Fi, and analysing unfamiliar resources for making purchases. Through this campaign, the NBU and its partners will raise awareness among Ukrainians to further develop a safe culture of public behaviour in the virtual space,” said Oleksiy Shaban, Deputy Governor of the NBU.

“The cybersecurity of our country is not only about the security of state information resources, systems and databases. Although most cyberattacks now have a political – or rather military and political – component, the activities of financially motivated hackers also continue to pose a threat. Therefore, we must continue to raise awareness among all Ukrainian citizens on how to protect themselves from cyber fraudsters who seek to steal their data and, as a result, money,” said Yuriy Myronenko, Head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine.

“The results of a nationally representative survey of the population, conducted with the support of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project, showed that more than a quarter of financial service users have faced payment fraud attempts at least once, and some have suffered from it. Of these, a large proportion are more active consumers who are more likely to use online shopping, paid online services and remote banking. The rapid development of technology has facilitated the spread of fraud, especially in times of war, and made it more difficult to detect. Therefore, measures to raise public awareness of payment security and relevant information and training campaigns should be regular and nationwide. Our project was pleased to support the survey and #CybersecurityFinance, the NBU’s campaign to combat payment fraud,” said Yuliya Vitka, acting Chief of Party of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project.

“In today’s world, where digital technologies Sare an integral part of life, cybersecurity is becoming one of the most important issues, especially for the financial sector. We have been relying on digital technologies for years to encourage our clients to use remote services, and we therefore adhere to high standards of cybersecurity in our own operations. ProCredit Bank is committed to safeguarding client data and raising awareness of information security. As we serve our clients remotely, we feel even more responsible and want to be proactive in raising awareness of cyber threats and how to protect against them. That is why our involvement in this initiative is not just a matter of image, but an internal initiative to protect the Ukrainian financial system from cybercrime,” comments Viktor Ponomarenko, General Manager of ProCredit Bank Ukraine.

During the campaign, the NBU and its partners will be explaining the basic elements of cybersecurity to financial services consumers on:

- how to protect their accounts, computers, smartphones and other devices from external interference

- how to create complex and unique passwords

- how to set up multi-factor authentication

- how to check websites where users enter their payment data and files, mobile applications and other programmes before downloading them

- how to use public and home Wi-Fi networks properly

- how to take care of software on their own devices and other rules of safe behaviour in the virtual space

The information campaign will run until the end of September 2024 in all regions of Ukraine. As part of the campaign, the NBU is launching a special website (landing page) on “Financial Cybersecurity” with detailed information about the campaign and rules of conduct in the virtual space.