According to the governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), José de Lima Massano, the work to regulate virtual financial operations takes place within the scope of the actions of the Council of Supervisors of the Financial System (CSSF).
The official, who was speaking at the opening of a conference held by Ernest Young (EY) noted that the International Financial Action Group has published recommendations on how to mitigate the risks associated with virtual assets.
"It is on the basis of these recommendations that several central banks and other regulatory bodies have started a regulatory process aimed at protecting financial systems, but also the advisers of these services," he said.
The conference, which took place in Luanda, was dedicated to the theme "Integrity, Ethics and Cybersecurity: Challenges and Opportunities".
The governor of the BNA considered, in his intervention, that it was "essential" for financial institutions to create a strong culture of awareness of cyber risk.
"Workers are often the weakest link in the information systems infrastructure, often being the door behind which cybercriminals gain access to the attacking entity's information systems," he noted.
"Careless or uninformed workers increase the vulnerability of the financial institution to cyber-attacks. Thus, it is essential that everyone understands their responsibility in cyberspace and their obligation to act with greater rigor", he stressed.
José de Lima Massano recalled notice 08/2022 on the Cyber Security Policy and the Adoption of Cloud Computing, published by the BNA, in recognition of the "growing importance of operational risk associated with information technologies".
The notice "establishes rules on the cybersecurity component, as well as the terms and conditions for contracting damage processing and storage and cloud computing services."
The publication of the Law on the General Regime of Financial Institutions, in May 2021, was also noted by the governor of the central bank, noting that it incorporates references on the governance models of financial institutions.
"Including requirements on the suitability of the members of the management and supervisory bodies and the holders of relevant functions", he stressed.
The regulation update, he added, "is complemented by the new supervision model that includes a regular assessment by the BNA of the governance and culture model, in each financial institution under its supervision, as well as in its day-to-day practical application".
"We thus have a regulatory and supervisory framework that aims to ensure the sound and prudent management of financial institutions, based on corporate governance models and cultures that ensure conduct supported by standards of ethics, integrity and professionalism", he concluded.
Integrity and ethics and cybersecurity were topics discussed at the meeting in two panels that included different actors from the Angolan public and private business sector linked to banking, telecommunications, oil and law.
