Recital 1

Financial system's vulnerability


In the digital age, information and communication technology (ICT) supports complex systems used for everyday activities. It keeps our economies running in key sectors, including the financial sector, and enhances the functioning of the internal market. Increased digitalisation and interconnectedness also amplify ICT riskany reasonably identifiable circumstance in relation to the use of network and information systems which, if materialised, may compromise the security of the network and information systems, of any technology dependent tool or process, of operations and processes, or of the provision of services by producing adverse effects in the digital or physical environment, making society as a whole, and the financial system in particular, more vulnerable to cyber threatsas defined in Article 2, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2019/881: any potential circumstance, event or action that could damage, disrupt or otherwise adversely impact network and information systems, the users of such systems and other persons or ICT disruptions. While the ubiquitous use of ICT systems and high digitalisation and connectivity are today core features of the activities of Union financial entitiesas defined in Article 2, points (a) to (t), their digital resilience has yet to be better addressed and integrated into their broader operational frameworks.