The Impact of Cyber Security on Preventing and Mitigating Electronic Crimes in the Jordanian Banking Sector

Abstract

—As technology advances and cyber threats continue to evolve, cyber security professionals play a critical role in developing and implementing robust security measures, staying ahead of potential risks, and mitigating the impact of cyber incidents. Many studies have examined the impact of cyber security on banks, without focusing on electronic crimes. Despite its importance, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies on the impact of cyber security on mitigating electronic crimes in the banking sector. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to ascertain how cyber security affects electronic crimes in the Jordanian banking industry. The study sample consisted of 270 senior Jordanian managers and employees who understand the importance of cyber security in the banking sector in 14 Jordanian commercial banks, listed on the Amman stock exchange. The study used SPSS to evaluate how banks can enhance network security infrastructure to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches and also to find out the role of cybersecurity in granting competitive advantage to banks. A relative importance index (RII) was conducted to rank the importance of variables’ statements and test the hypotheses. The results found the most important method through which banks can effectively mitigate the risk of electronic crimes and ensure the security of customers’ financial data is that banks utilize robust encryption technologies to ensure the protection of customer financial data while it is being transmitted and when it is stored (RII=0.740). About 81.5 % of the sample agree, also, banks that have a strong cyber security system provide a secure platform for digital financial services which increases the competitive advantage as they were ranked first for their relative importance at both the category level and overall ranking with (RII=0.754). The study recommended that the banking industry, must consistently educate its customers on information security techniques and how to avoid hacking into their accounts, and develop an alert system that can raise awareness for both banks and bank customers if there is any possible entry or access to the customer's account or organization confidential information.