The Hong Kong government agency in charge of financial technology is looking to expand its cybersecurity network, which initially covered banks, to include the insurance and securities sectors.

The Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) is currently in talks with Hong Kong’s insurance and securities regulators, following an agreement with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) signed in December that created a system to protect all of the territory’s 156 banks from cyberattacks.

“After launching a cybersecurity platform with HKMA last year for banks, we are now in initial talks with the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers and the Securities and Futures Commission to establish similar platforms for insurance companies and securities firms to help them to defend themselves from cyber risks,” Frank Tong Fuk-kay, chief executive of ASTRI, was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

According to Tong, the platform was received positively by banks, and it plans to expand it for insurers and stock brokerages to benefit, as well. In the future, the system will be further expanded to include other sectors such as hospitals.

ASTRI is also working with financial institutions to adopt new technologies such as blockchain to improve their finances, minimize fraud, and increase efficiency.

For example, blockchain prevents documents from being tampered and cuts down paperwork, allowing transactions such as mortgage applications to increase by up to 50%, according to ASTRI estimates.


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