NSE reviewing network vulnerabilities as AI cyber threats rise: Chauhan

NSE chief Ashish Kumar Chauhan urged stockbrokers to make cybersecurity a core function and called for an industry task force to identify and address emerging risks

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is reviewing every component of its network for vulnerabilities amid the growing threat of artificial intelligence (AI)-based cyberattacks, its managing director and chief executive officer Ashish Kumar Chauhan said on Saturday, urging stockbrokers to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities.

 

“Every member has to now take that out as a main function to ensure that integrity of our trading framework across India, across all members is maintained,” Chauhan said at the annual capital market convention organised by the Association of NSE Members of India (Anmi).

 

He warned that more vulnerabilities were likely to emerge over the next few years and called on the industry association to set up a special task force to identify risks, coordinate responses and help market participants address them.

 

 

Chauhan said the exchange was prepared to assist brokers through workshops and other support and would work with the regulator to help members strengthen their systems.

 

Brokers lacking in-house technical capabilities should build them or seek external advisers, he said.

 

Citing recent incidents of AI-driven cyberattacks, Chauhan said cybersecurity risks could affect the integrity of the broader market network if individual members failed to address vulnerabilities.

 

He also flagged the longer-term challenge posed by quantum computing, which could affect cryptographic systems, including those used in secure communications.

 

Market participants would need to prepare for these risks alongside the immediate threat from AI-enabled attacks, Chauhan said.

 

Technology has remained central to the functioning of capital markets since NSE’s early years, but market participants cannot afford to fall behind as threats evolve, he added.

 

The exchange would work with industry bodies and the regulator to help the ecosystem navigate these challenges, Chauhan said, emphasising that maintaining trust in the market required coordinated efforts by exchanges, brokers and other institutions.