Bank of England and IMF warn that cyber attacks could erode financial trust

At a fraud-focused session in Bangkok, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned that a surge in cyber-attacks, including self-replicating AI agents and a supermarket hack that raised fridge temperatures to 50 °C, is undermining trust in money and, by extension, society. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva echoed the concern, saying the cost of fraud could drive people, especially those on the financial system’s margins, to hide cash at home as she once did behind the iron curtain.

She stressed that loss of confidence could exclude many from formal finance. Both leaders urged tech firms, particularly social-media platforms, to assume liability for content that facilitates fraud. Bailey suggested repurposing the same technologies used by attackers to bolster defenses. Their remarks introduced the “Bangkok blueprint,” a set of international principles aimed at curbing cyber fraud in financial institutions.