Cybersecurity has moved from being a minor headache for IT departments to heading the World Economic Forum's annual risk report. Central banks need to improve their ability to react quickly to the new realities. The IT organizations, systems and infrastructure of many central banks are not yet fit for purpose. Some central banks have successfully embarked on the journey to transform their IT departments into proactive business partners with a clear strategic mandate, but many have not yet dedicated the necessary top-management attention and resources to prepare themselves for the road ahead.

We interviewed a large number of IT department heads at central banks, industry experts and entrepreneurs and asked them about their major areas of concern with regard to the future of central banks. Their answers all revolved around similiar topic clusters:

• cybersecurity
• process automation
• cloud solutions
• digital currencies

We call for fresh thinking in these four key areas.

This publication is the third about "new realities in central banking". The first deals with the " organizational challenge ", the second with the " rise of cryptofinance " in central banking.