Financial services firms are frequently attacked through cyberspace by criminals looking to acquire customer data for profit or cause disruptions.
Industrys include numerous third-party vendors that provide various business services, creating an expansive attack surface and opening up potential vulnerabilities.
Regulators promote preventive cybersecurity measures; however, no amount of precaution can guarantee an enterprise is immune from cyberattack.
1. Data Management
Data is one of the most precious assets a company must protect, particularly financial firms that handle customers’ monies or personal assets; those working with such individuals must remain vigilant for cyber threats that threaten this data.
Product blueprints, social security numbers, medical data and credit card details are among the many sensitive files that must be protected against cyberattacks. Furthermore, remote teams add an extra challenge.
Robust cybersecurity measures provide relief, helping prevent data breaches while decreasing remediation costs and business disruption costs. Furthermore, these measures may improve customer service levels while building trust among clients for increased competitive advantage – this makes implementing internal policies and monitoring company activities absolutely critical to success.
2. API Security
Financial services firms face an elevated threat from cyberattacks, making API security even more critical. APIs allow information to pass back and forth between internal systems and external ones; if not properly protected, hackers could gain unwarranted access to sensitive data that’s stored therein.
Implement encryption to protect data transmissions from being intercepted and secure your API responses against potential attackers trying to view or modify them. Conduct regular security reviews and assess API misconfigurations so you can identify potential vulnerabilities.
Utilize secure coding practices in order to prevent attacks such as SQL injection and command injection – attacks in which an attacker injects malicious commands such as reboot commands or cat commands into an API or system – from happening. Also limit how often API endpoints can be called per second so as to thwart attacks such as Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks – these could overwhelm servers with requests causing overload.
3. Network Security
Data is one of the greatest assets to a financial firm, including client data and monetary assets. To safeguard it effectively, they must ensure network integrity.
COVID-19’s pandemic accelerated the shift toward remote work and digitalization, increasing cyber risks within financial services organizations. To mitigate this threat, CISOs need a holistic security strategy that addresses extended enterprise, improves risk identification methods, and strengthens awareness/training programs.
Though cybersecurity remains of great significance, efforts to combat its threat remain fragmented due to its complex and evolving nature. Addressing cyber risk requires sound security within institutions as well as robust oversight through regulation and supervision; collaborative action in markets; and international collaboration to expand capacity and expertise.
4. Endpoint Security
COVID-19’s pandemic caused more people to work remotely and lead to an explosion of new endpoint devices being connected to networks – and with them comes potential malware threats and other attacks against these vulnerable endpoints.
Financial services firms can protect themselves from insider threats by installing security solutions that monitor both on-premises and third-party infrastructure, and by encrypting data to protect sensitive information against ransomware or other forms of attacks from hackers.
Firms can increase endpoint security by encouraging staff to use strong passwords, restricting device privileges and employing SIEM solutions that quickly identify threats. A managed security service provider can streamline detection and recovery for minimal downtime for business operations.
5. Security Monitoring
As the saying goes, “where the money is,” financial institutions are prime targets for cybercriminals who aim to steal personally identifiable information (PII) for use in monetisation or money diversion schemes.
Financial services organizations invest in cybersecurity tools such as network security, firewalls, and malware protection solutions in order to safeguard customer data, prevent financial fraud, and comply with regulatory standards. Furthermore, security monitoring solutions like data activity management help detect any unauthorized attempts at accessing their systems real time.
However, even the most advanced cybersecurity solution can become ineffective if staff fall for phishing attacks or other insider threats. To combat this risk, financial services companies offer cybersecurity awareness training programs for employees so that they can spot cyber threats and prevent falling prey to them.
