The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is asking every financial firm to work out whether it ought to set up a secure tertiary data backup or STDB to temporise with the devastation caused by cyber-attacks.

The HKMA has already invited the Hong Kong Association of Banks to develop guidelines for STDBs for its members to follow. This it has duly done, with the issuance of the “Secure Tertiary Data Backup Guideline” on 30 April. This lists the factors that a bank needs to take into account when deciding whether to set up an STDB and the practical hurdles that it must overcome to make it effective.

Every retail bank and foreign bank branch with significant operations in Hong Kong is expected to submit a report containing the result of its assessment to the HKMA by 30 November.