Show notes
Cyber and Operational Risk in the Quantum Era: Financial Stability amid Escalating Geopolitical Conflict
This panel took place at the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Spring Meetings.
Financial stability is under fire as geopolitics and cyber risk collide. As global tensions intensify and technological capabilities accelerate, financial institutions face a rapidly evolving threat landscape where cyber operations, financial crime, and state-sponsored actors are increasingly intertwined. From ransomware campaigns and sanctions evasion to sophisticated cyber intrusions targeting critical infrastructure, adversaries are exploiting digital systems and global financial networks in new and complex ways.
As these threats continue to evolve, the quantum horizon introduces an additional layer of strategic risk. This executive panel will examine how advances in quantum computing could reshape cyber and operational risk across the financial sector, while also considering the growing convergence between cyber-enabled crime, ransomware payments, sanctions evasion, and global illicit finance networks. Leaders from policy, finance, and technology will explore the implications of quantum-enabled decryption, the expanding links between cyber threats and illicit finance, and the operational vulnerabilities that could undermine confidence in critical financial infrastructure.
The discussion focused on how institutions and regulators can strengthen resilience, enhance cross-border coordination, and prepare for a future in which emerging technologies, cyber conflict, ransomware, and financial crime increasingly intersect. The panel explored what these developments mean for international efforts to combat cyber-enabled financial crime and how global standards bodies, national authorities, and financial institutions can strengthen cooperation to protect the integrity and resilience of the international financial system.
Opening Remarks:
Cindy Termorshuizen, Deputy Minister of International Development, Government of Canada
Panelists:
Giles Thomson, Director, Economic Crime and Sanctions, His Majesty's Treasury; Incoming President, FATF
Stefan Ingves, Chair, Toronto Centre; Former Governor, Sveriges Riksbank
Michele Mosca, Professor, Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo
Moderator:
Jennifer Elliott, Assistant Director, Monetary and Capital Markets, IMF; Board Member, Toronto Centre
Watch the executive panel session here.
Read the transcript here.
Read their biographies here.
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