Hanfa holds a conference on the future of digital resilience in the financial sector
At the third conference “DORA and digital resilience: Opportunities and challenges on the horizon of digital resilience”, organised by the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) on 5 October 2026, more than 200 representatives of the financial industry, regulatory authorities, information and cyber security experts, and domestic and international speakers gathered to discuss emerging challenges and opportunities in the field of digital operational resilience. Particular emphasis was placed on the impact of artificial intelligence on digital resilience, emerging technological risks, post-quantum encryption, and the future of cybersecurity in the financial sector.
In her opening address, Martina Verić, Member of Hanfa Board, highlighted the importance of continuous and collective action around digital resilience: “Digital resilience is not a one-off project. It is an ongoing ability to adapt to new technologies and increasingly complex threats. Hanfa seeks to identify risks and encourage the market to adapt. We believe that, through joint efforts, we can further protect consumers and users of financial services, both from direct financial losses and from the loss of confidence in the financial system.”
Experts from European institutions, supervisory authorities and the private sector presented various perspectives on the future development of digital resilience. Leila Taghizadeh, Global Head of Cyber Risk and Chief Information Security Officer, as well as Member of the Europol Quantum Safe Financial Forum Steering Committee, spoke about the challenges that advances in quantum computing pose for the financial sector and the need for timely preparation for the transition to post-quantum security solutions. Sabine Balogh-Preininger, DORA Hub Manager and Senior Specialist at the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), presented regulatory and supervisory perspectives on the further development of the digital resilience framework within the European Union.
Hanfa representatives Mladen Gavrančić and Boris Mršić provided an overview of current supervisory activities and experiences related to the implementation of DORA, as well as key trends in the management of digital and cyber risks. A representative of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-HR) presented an overview of the current threat landscape and security environment in Croatia, while industry representatives shared practical experiences in strengthening their organisations’ resilience.
Participants devoted particular attention to the impact of artificial intelligence on the financial sector, discussing its benefits in risk management, incident detection and process automation, as well as the new security challenges such technologies may bring. The need for the continued development of regulatory and operational capacities to enable financial institutions to respond effectively to increasingly sophisticated digital threats was also emphasised.
The closing panel discussion, entitled “Challenges and Market Practice in Croatia”, brought together representatives of the financial industry who exchanged views on the practical implementation of regulatory requirements, the management of emerging technological risks, and expectations regarding the further development of digital operational resilience. Stjepko Čičak, Member of the Management Board of the Central Depository and Clearing Company (SKDD) and representative of the Croatian Chamber of Economy’s DORA Forum; Denis Jurinić, Member of the Management Board of INTERKAPITAL vrijednosni papiri d.o.o.; Gordan Šumanović, President of the Management Board of Raiffeisen društvo za upravljanje obveznim i dobrovoljnim mirovinskim fondovima d.d.; and Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Croatia osiguranje d.d., agreed that the resilience of the financial sector increasingly depends on the ability of institutions to identify emerging threats in a timely manner, effectively manage relationships with ICT service providers, and continuously invest in knowledge, technology and security culture.
The conference once again confirmed the importance of cooperation between regulators, industry and the expert community in strengthening the digital resilience of the financial sector, while providing an overview of the key topics that will shape the security and stability of financial services in Croatia and Europe in the years ahead.
