Cybersecurity in Banking

Like many other industries, banking has been gradually undergoing a digital transformation in recent years. This digital revolution has brought new and exciting opportunities, for both businesses and individuals. The convenience of online banking is undeniable. With a few clicks, you can check balances, transfer funds or pay bills.

However, with great convenience comes great responsibility, especially when it comes to cybersecurity. Banks are constantly under siege from attackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities and steal customers’ hard-earned money or information that could be leveraged in a ransom or sold on the dark web.

The repercussions of successful cyberattacks on banks can be profound. There's always the possibility of financial loss associated with stolen funds, ransom payments, attorney fees, recovery expenses, among others. Banks may face hefty fines for regulatory violations as well. Another repercussion is the downtime from an operational disruption. Reputational damages, a decline in trust and loss of customers are the less than desirable but most likely consequences a bank could face after an incident.

Banks operate under rigid regulatory frameworks that are meant to ensure the security of financial systems, including the protection of customer data. Regulatory entities change from country to country, but they all look for ways to protect the end-customer.

For example, in the United States, there are several mandatory regulations to comply with, like:

And so on.

Banks traditionally operate with separate departments which use different systems and try to reach their own goals. This lack of integration has hindered growth, restricted scalability, diminished customer satisfaction and facilitated the propagation of security vulnerabilities.

The current banking landscape involves a vast network of interconnected technologies, which include mobile platforms to cloud services. This linkage enlarges the attack surface (i.e., creates many potential entry points for cybercriminals). Other circumstances, like an increase in reliance on digital channels, customizable cloud environments and the usage of third-party software have also created a larger attack surface.

Other challenges are fueled by several factors. Outdated legacy systems and a lack of proficiency by an unprepared staff need to be considered. Evolving cybercrime tactics like social engineering and spear-phishing attacks, advanced tools like exploit kits, and even machine learning manipulated to leverage vulnerabilities are also contributing factors to the proliferation of cyber threats.

A culture of cyber hygiene in banks fosters a more secure digital banking environment. It seeks to protect valuable assets, maintain customer trust, meet regulatory requirements and ensure operational stability. It’s more than just implementing technical solutions; it’s about creating a shared responsibility where both employees and customers understand the importance of good cybersecurity practices. This collective approach is vital to prevent data breaches, malware installation, and other incidents that can disrupt the banking services.

Here are key practices to cultivate robust cyber hygiene within a bank institution:

Security leaders can ask themselves and their teams questions like the following to assess their bank’s cybersecurity posture:

Building security into the fabric of bank applications from the very beginning is fundamental to mitigate cyber risks. Risks can be identified early on the software development lifecycle (SDLC) by integrating security factors. This can include preliminary analysis to understand the bank’s needs and threat modeling exercises to identify potential vulnerabilities.

Finally, integrating security testing into the CI/CD pipelines and failing such pipelines if code flaws are found can help catch vulnerabilities and remediate them before they are deployed. This can save everyone time and money that would otherwise go to remediation expenses.

The challenges and threats lurking around banks are not going to end. They’re getting more intricate and less easy to catch. Instead of waiting for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities, banks can adopt a solution like the one we offer. Our proactive approach to vulnerability management has helped banks to continuously improve their security posture and stay ahead of ever-changing cyber threats.