On May 30, 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine together with the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine launches the All-Ukrainian information campaign on payment security #CybersecurityFinance.
Its goal is to raise public awareness of payment security and develop skills to protect 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 cyberfraud 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 rules. The survey was aimed at determining the level of knowledge of Ukrainians in the field of payment security and identifying 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 (they are not published to avoid the possibility of fraudsters using them).
Social engineering has traditionally remained 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 related to phishing. By using phishing resources (stylized as government portals and information resources of Ukrainian banks and payment services) and deceiving citizens, the attackers tried to gain access to their personal data, information about their payment instruments, financial phone 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 analyzing unfamiliar resources for making purchases. Thanks to this campaign, the NBU and its partners will raise awareness among Ukrainians to further develop a safe culture of public behavior in the virtual space,” said Oleksiy Shaban, Deputy Governor of the NBU.
“The cybersecurity of our country is not only the security of state information resources, systems, and databases. Although most cyberattacks now have a political, or rather military-political, component, the activities of financially motivated hackers also continue to pose a threat. Therefore, we must continue to work to raise awareness of all Ukrainian citizens on how to protect themselves from the activities of cyber fraudsters who seek to steal your data and, as a result, money,” said Yurii 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 services users have faced payment fraud attempts at least once, and some have suffered from it. A large share of them are more active consumers who use online shopping, paid online services and remote banking more often. The rapid development of technology is contributing to the spread of fraud, especially in times of war, and making 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 the NBU’s campaign to combat payment fraud #CybersecurityFinance,” said Yulia Vitka, acting manager of the USAID Investment for Business Resilience Project.
JSC OTP BANK supported the information campaign aimed at raising public awareness of payment security and financial protection in the virtual space.
“The number of cyber incidents in Ukraine and the world is constantly growing. Fraudsters are using any available means and the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, to deceive as many people as possible and enrich themselves illegally. In such a situation, banking institutions, to which citizens entrust their savings, feel an increased responsibility to society. OTP BANK makes every effort to ensure that customers’ money is safe – for this purpose, we transfer data to the cloud and strengthen security systems. And in order to neutralize the human factor, in particular on the part of users of banking services, we consistently participate in information campaigns of the National Bank of Ukraine aimed at improving the financial literacy of Ukrainians, developing their skills and abilities that will help protect funds from fraudsters and cybercriminals,” said Oleg Klymenko, member of the Board of OTP Bank responsible for retail business development.
During the campaign, the National Bank, together with its partners, will explain to financial services consumers the basic elements of cybersecurity on the following issues:
● 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 programs before downloading them;
● how to properly use public and home Wi-Fi networks;
● how to take care of the software on their own devices and other rules of safe behavior 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 webpage (landing page) “Cybersecurity of Finance” with detailed information about the campaign and rules of conduct in the virtual space.
For reference.
The NBU is conducting the All-Ukrainian Information Campaign on Payment Security #CybersecurityFinance together with the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, as well as with the support of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project.
General partners: Department of Cyber Police of the National Police of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Free Legal Aid, Ministry of Social Policy, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, State Employment Center, PROSTIR, Portmone, Kyivstar, Lifecell, OLX.ua, Viasat, MEGOGO Education, GOITeens, ESET.
Media partners: PrivatBank, Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, Raiffeisen Bank, Ukrgasbank, FUIB, Ukrsibbank, SENS BANK, Credit Agricole Bank, OTP Bank, Kredobank, ProCredit Bank, Tascombank, A-Bank, Bank Credit Dnipro, Accordbank, MTB Bank, International Investment Bank, Bank Globus, Pravex Bank, Cominbank, Piraeus Bank, Radabank, Bank Clearing House, Agroprosperis Bank, Unex Bank, Bank for Investment and Savings, Grant Bank, Ukrainian Capital Bank, Creditwest Bank, Crystal Bank, Motor Bank, Polikombank, Ukrainian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, First Investment Bank, Trust Capital Bank, Bank Portal, BTA Bank, NABU, Mastercard, YASNO – a supplier of electricity, gas and energy efficiency solutions, Foxtrot, Epicenter, Eldorado, Opendatabot, EasyPay, city24, WOG, SOCAR, Amic Energy, Shell, Softkey, Maxnet, TENET, NGO “Vsad “IT-babushki” , King Cross Leopolis (Lviv), Megamall (Vinnytsia), Karavan (Dnipro), Dafi (Dnipro), Ornava (Ternopil), Woodmall (Khmelnytskyi), Concord (Poltava), Dafi (Kharkiv), Hollywood (Chernihiv), Avenir Plaza (Bucha), Ocean Plaza (Kyiv).
