Cybersecurity

Jamie Dimon says cyber warfare is the biggest risk to the financial system

Key Points
  • The "biggest vulnerability" for the financial system is the threat of cyberattacks, J.P. Morgan's Jamie Dimon said on Thursday.
Biggest vulnerability today is cyber, JPMorgan CEO says
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Biggest vulnerability today is cyber, JPMorgan CEO says

Banks may be in sound condition post-Lehman Brothers, but the financial system could crack again if hit with a devastating cyber attack, J.P. Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned on Thursday.

"I think the biggest vulnerability is cyber, just for about everybody" he told CNBC's Indian affiliate CNBC TV-18 on Thursday. "I think we have to focus on it, the United States government has to focus on it."

"We have to make sure because cyber — terrorist and cyber countries — they could cause real damage. We're already spending a lot of money and J.P. Morgan is secure but we should really worry about that," Dimon told CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan in New Delhi.

Dimon put inflation running too hot as his second biggest concern, warning the reactionary raising of interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve could be the cause of a "traditional" recession.

Industry experts have placed increasing importance on the threat of cyber warfare as attacks become more sophisticated.

Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co
Eric Piermont | AFP | Getty Images

In the past, western officials have warned of increasing suspicious cyber activity originating from countries of concern including Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Earlier this year, America's Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation, alongside the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Center, released a joint technical alert warning of the threat of malicious digital activity being carried out by the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, authorities are worried about the heightened threat of cyberattacks from Iran on the U.S. and Europe, especially as the country becomes increasingly ostracized by the U.S., which has reintroduced sanctions on Tehran.

How do you stop a cyberwar?
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How do you stop a cyberwar?