CBDC Security

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are emerging as a major player in digital payments as well as digital finance in general. As a new financial instrument offered by a central bank, a CBDC can be quite complex and require the central bank to collaborate with a large number of market participants, thus introducing a large attack surface. To secure its CBDC, a central bank not only needs to secure the core CBDC design and its supporting infrastructure managed by the central bank but also take a leadership role in ensuring a secure ecosystem. In addition, the use of novel technologies such as blockchain and smart contract could introduce security threats that are new to the central bank and other participants, which would require special attention. In addition, CBDCs bring about new ways for financial crimes and could pose a threat to data privacy of CBDC users. These risks must be recognized during the CBDC design, with countermeasures established along the lines of people, process, and technology.