

Banks deal mainly in theory. That’s because the product they provide – money – is mainly theoretical. Like an invisible atom speeding through a supercollider, the money you deposit can be detected primarily as a number on a computer.
Unlike at a supercollider, no one at the bank wants to find a black hole. Protection of a bank’s IT system and the accurate preservation of customer account information are not only important parts of the business. They are the business. That’s why banks have elaborate IT cybersecurity systems and are so careful about the many outside IT systems they link to. And that’s why regulators enforce such stringent rules for these IT systems.