With tech advancements taking place rapidly, cyberattacks pose no cues of slowing down. The financial sector is a gold mine of sensitive data and money, making it an obvious target for hackers. In 2022, there were 1,829 reported cyber incidents in the financial industry globally. As per VMware’s Modern Bank Heists 5.0 report from 2022, ransomware attacks targeted 74% of the surveyed financial organisations, and 65% paid the ransom. This implies that the financial sector must implement cutting-edge technology, facilitate a strong cybersecurity culture, and strategically invest in protecting their sensitive data and customers’ interests.

To let the financial sector mitigate cybersecurity threats, let us explore various cybersecurity measures worthwhile to implement.

Cybersecurity Measures in the Financial Sector

1) Threat Monitoring

Continuous threat monitoring is inevitable to deter cyberattacks. Managed detection facilitates the financial sector with the best chance to detect network threats and anomalies. Subsequently, they can stay informed about overt attacks (for example, ransomware) and any suspicious activity.

With threat monitoring defending information security, financial services organisations can:

• View and capture network performance in real-time
• Show regulatory compliance by overseeing systems that process and store all financial data
• Measure the effectiveness of implemented cybersecurity policies

2) Vulnerability Management

Any financial firm must periodically evaluate its security posture efficacy. With vulnerability assessments, financial firms can get clear perspectives about the potential weaknesses in their enterprise architecture.

Acquiring new hardware, extending storage to the cloud, facilitating remote access to the network, using Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc., are all beneficial resources for business growth. However, these resources boost the chances of cyberattacks on the organisation. Hence, a financial organisation must scan its network to identify and discard vulnerabilities to defend financial data.

Vulnerability management helps strengthen regulatory compliance and decrease both reputational and operational risk.

3) Third-Party Risk Management

Financial service organisations not only establish connections with customers but also engage with various suppliers, partners, and vendors to execute essential business operations. However, these third-party relationships can introduce security vulnerabilities that compromise data security.

Consider the following actions when choosing a third party to protect your financial firm from risk:

• Vendor assessment: Assess how the data is protected when handled under vendor control.
• Regulatory compliance: It involves securing a service level agreement (SLA) to ascertain that your vendor’s security and privacy controls are not vulnerable to risk.
• Policy implementation: Review your vendor’s information security model periodically.

4) Data Backup

Financial organisations must back up critical data to significantly minimise data loss due to ransomware attacks, human error, or natural disasters. The following best practices for the data backup process are worthwhile to consider:

• Communicate the requirement and purpose of your backup
• Illustrate the expectations of employee contribution
• List out the information that needs data backup
• Assign an individual or team to manage and maintain the backup plan
• Implement policies defining the frequency, protection, and place for backing up data
• Irrespective of the data backup medium (cloud solutions, portable devices, or physical drivers), a financial firm must periodically evaluate its backups. Moreover, it must impose a “separation of duties” to curtail internal risk to business recovery.

5) Using biometrics

PINs and passwords are found to be vulnerable to cyber risks like brute-force attacks and phishing. Face recognition and fingerprint and biometrics present a more user-friendly and safer alternative.

Financial firms can implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) that adds a layer of protection by uniting two or more authentication elements, like a fingerprint and a password. MFA easily sends a push notification to the user whenever a login attempt is detected. Banking institutions and other financial firms can implement MFA and biometrics to curtail the threat of illicit access. Moreover, these practices help them identify cyber theft and assure the security of clients’ personal information and bank accounts.

6) Ensuring transparent communication

The key components of any effective incident response plan are prompt and transparent communication. To mitigate cybersecurity threats, financial firms can timely report events to customers, internal teams, law enforcement agencies, and regulatory authorities. Consequently, it helps them build consumer trust and foster actions to effectively control cyber threats.

7) Employee training

All the processes in a financial organisation are eventually followed by the employees. So, financial organisations must periodically organise employee training targeted at enhancing proficiency and potential legal implications.

Educating employees regarding effective cybersecurity practices (via regular cybersecurity training) and deploying access controls (like physical access controls and additional passwords) can help curtail cybersecurity risks.

8) Other measures:

Apart from the ones discussed above, the financial sector can implement the following cybersecurity measures to ensure comprehensive protection against cyber threats.

• Prohibit employees from downloading and using any illicit software.
• Strengthen tech support to ensure effective firewall protection for all devices. Consequently, this approach would block contacts from any illicit domains.
• Ensure appropriate approval protocols are employed, with a minimum of two approval requirements for clearance transfers or wire transfers and other transactions.

Conclusion

The financial services cybersecurity statistics showcase a grim picture. Following the best measures for financial cybersecurity, the financial sector can effectively defend personal and financial data. All personnel must be vigilant about cybersecurity threats and implement the necessary action. By considering cybersecurity a top priority, the financial sector can foster a safer digital world, benefitting all stakeholders.

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