The Africa and Middle East Depositories Association (AMEDA) said Tuesday cybersecurity standards at many of its member institutions remain below global benchmarks, calling for urgent action to strengthen defenses against rising digital threats to financial infrastructure. The message came during AMEDA's first specialist cybersecurity webinar, held in partnership with risk management firm Thomas Murray, under the title "Ways to Pre-empt Cyber Threats." The session brought together representatives from more than 17 member depositories alongside Egyptian investment banks, financial firms and private equity companies. Cybersecurity experts from Thomas Murray said average cyber readiness among AMEDA's member Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) was "slightly lower" than the global average, with some 33 institutions scoring in the weakest security band. Vulnerabilities, they added, could be addressed through technical fixes and stronger oversight. While CSDs are generally resilient against direct financial theft due to their regulated and complex structures, ransomware and third-party breaches pose a major risk to operational stability, said Jim Micklethwaite, Thomas Murray's head of financial markets. The webinar examined real-world attacks on exchanges and market infrastructure globally, including incidents targeting the Moscow Exchange, the US Treasury operations of ICBC, India's CDSL and Ion Markets in Dublin. Experts urged greater use of cyber threat intelligence, continuous external monitoring and tighter controls over third-party providers. AMEDA said it will roll out further specialized webinars and panels to help members improve digital resilience and protect the stability of capital markets in Africa and the Middle East amid accelerating digital transformation and growing cyber risks. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
