SIFMA conducted an industry-wide cybersecurity exercise in which participants responded to and recovered from simulated ransomware attacks targeting the financial sector.

SIFMA designed the "Quantum Dawn VI" exercise to (i) test the industry's ability to respond to and recover from a ransomware attack, (ii) impress upon members the importance of information sharing when managing global ransomware attacks, (iii) provide a forum for firms to exercise and share their best practices, and (iv) build upon prior exercises. This was the sixth iteration of the Quantum Dawn Cybersecurity exercise. Over 900 participants from 240 public and private sector institutions took part.

SIFMA concluded: "A clear takeaway from the exercise is the importance of a robust partnership between the industry and government grounded in information sharing. No single actor - not the federal government, nor any individual firm - has the resources to protect markets from cyber threats on their own." As a follow-up, SIFMA stated that it will "analyze participant feedback and produce a public after-action report with key observations and recommendations for enhancing the financial services sector's ability to respond to a ransomware attack."

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.