GCHQ has announced that it will share real-time intelligence with UK banks in a bid to help fight cyber crime. This is a first step towards working more closely with a wider range of UK businesses. GCHQ monitors online activity 24/7 and the additional information should give banks a greater opportunity to protect their clients against card and account fraud whilst also helping the banks preempt cyber attacks upon them.

The Director of GCHQ shared that only 15% of people know how to protect themselves online and his agency wants to take the burden of protection away from the individual, despite efforts more widely to make people more cyber aware. Bank fraud is becoming increasingly more troublesome for customers, with figures from 2018 revealing that one in four Britons were affected. We look forward to seeing how information will be shared with UK business after this initial trial.