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Cybersecurity in Banking sector: Importance, Risks and Regulations

The threat of financial fraud, cyber-attacks and other malicious activities has become a major concern for businesses around the world, especially in the banking sector. As risk management is essential to protect assets and maintain customer trust, it is important to keep an eye on the latest trends in cyber security in banking and best practices specific to banking. With constant changes in technology, regulations and security requirements adding to the overall complexity, it can be difficult to operate systems securely while meeting business objectives. To help banks better protect their networks against evolving threats – both internally and externally initiated – this article takes a closer look at current cybersecurity risks banks face today and strategic solutions institutions can use to defend themselves against attacks. Importance of cyber security for banking Due to rapid technological developments, maintaining a secure system is becoming increasingly important for banks. In today’s digital world, there is an even greater risk of sensitive personal information such as bank details and passwords being hacked or accessed by malicious actors. The security of customer data is critical to the survival and reputation of a bank. To achieve this goal, banks need to be constantly vigilant and implement enhanced security measures that protect against security threats when browsing the internet or engaging in online banking activities. Banks should also ensure that they use the latest software updates and that all employees are trained in the secure handling of customer data and banking transactions. Ultimately, protecting customer data through strong cybersecurity is essential to ensure safety and security in the banking sector and the longevity of business operations. The biggest risks for banks‘ cyber security In recent years, cybercrime has increased so much that it is already objectively considered the biggest threat to the financial sector. As hackers‘ methods and know-how have become more sophisticated, it is becoming increasingly difficult to consistently defend against attacks. Below you are listed the most important cyber security threats in the banking sector. Phishing attacks In this case, hackers create clone websites that any user can easily access via third-party messaging services. Since there is a credible multi-factor authentication there and it generally looks like a real website, users do not even realize that they have already given their credentials to hackers. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) A DDoS attack uses a botnet – a collection of connected online devices – to flood a target website with spoofed traffic. Unlike other cyberattacks, a DDoS attack does not attempt to compromise security. Instead, the goal is to exhaust network, server or application resources so that they become unavailable to the targeted audience. A DDoS attack can also be used to mask other malicious activity and disable security devices to compromise the target’s security. It is also interesting to note that during the pandemic, the number of DDoS attacks increased by 30% in the financial services industry. Unencrypted data As cybercriminals have become more creative, data threats have not diminished over time. It’s no longer enough to just protect data access points – the data itself must be encrypted. Our partner, IBM , reports that the average cost of a data breach is $4.35 million. The price tag is sure to rise in the future as cyberattacks occur daily, causing tremendous damage to businesses and users. However, with robust encryption methods, these costs can be reduced or avoided altogether. The Ransomware Ransomware is used by cybercriminals to encrypt important data and deny its owners access to it unless they pay a ransom. This cyberattack is unfortunately a serious threat to banks, 90% of which have already been hit. In the age of cryptocurrencies, fraudsters are particularly interested in finding vulnerabilities in the decentralized system. If these vulnerabilities are present, they can easily steal money from the trading system. Data manipulation Altering digital documents and information is known as data tampering. Cybercriminals use arbitrary attack vectors to penetrate networks, gain access to software or applications, and alter data. By manipulating data rather than stealing it, hackers can be more successful and cause catastrophic consequences for organizations or individuals. It is a sophisticated cyberattack because it can take a long time for a user to realize that their sensitive and confidential data has been irrevocably altered. Spoofing Spoofing is a form of cyberattack in which criminals disguise their identity as a trusted and known source in order to steal confidential information or money. Banks face a constant threat of spoofing attacks that can have serious consequences for their customers and operations. In addition, a man-in-the-middle attack is gaining traction, where a hacker intercepts communications between a customer and the bank to gain access to personal information, redirect payments or even launch a denial-of-service attack. Therefore, it is important that banks remain on guard and take measures to protect themselves from these threats. Cybersecurity regulations for banks impacting FinTech Financial institutions should consider the following FinTech regulations to maintain strong security and prevent data breaches. Security managers can use these regulations to evaluate their security measures and those of their suppliers. In addition, your organization can easily identify the processes and procedures needed to mitigate cybersecurity risks. Below are the three most common financial compliance requirements related to financial cybersecurity in banking. NIST NIST has become the No. 1 standard for cybersecurity assessment, security vulnerability identification and compliance with cybersecurity laws, even if compliance is not mandatory. NIST has developed 110 requirements covering various aspects of an organization’s IT procedures, policies and technology. These requirements address access control, system configuration, and authentication methods. In addition, cybersecurity and incident response protocols are defined. Meeting all of these requirements ensures that an organization’s network, systems, and people are efficiently prepared to securely manage all controlled unclassified information (CUI). GDPR The General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) is a security framework designed to protect citizens‘ personal data. Any company that processes private data of EU citizens, whether manually or automatically, must comply with the GDPR. This regulation highlights a

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What are Insider Threats and How Can Identity Governance and Administration Prevent Them?

Insider threats are a major and growing concern for organizations, as the human factor is often the most difficult to control and predict when it comes to data security and privacy. With digitization, the amount of digital data is growing exponentially, and with it comes an increase in the number of systems and human interactions with data. More interaction means that data is exposed to more security vulnerabilities. The potential risks from insider threats are numerous, including financial fraud, data corruption, theft of valuable information and malware installation. These incidents can lead to data breaches that expose sensitive information such as personally identifiable information (PII) or intellectual property (IP) and can result in large fines, while their detection is no easy task for security teams. What are insider threats in cybersecurity? Insider threats are cybersecurity risks that originate within the organization itself. They can be caused by users with legitimate access to the organization’s assets – including current or former employees, contractors, business partners, third-party vendors, etc. Insiders can vary significantly in awareness, motivation, intent, and level of access. Traditional security measures such as firewalls or antivirus systems focus on external threats and are not always able to detect threats originating from within the organization. In addition to being invisible to traditional security solutions, attacks from insiders can be more difficult to detect or prevent than attacks from the outside and can go unnoticed for months or years. Difference between internal and external threats In many ways, insider threats can do far more damage than external threats. This is because an insider threat potentially has direct access to sensitive data and critical applications, which it can exploit by moving laterally and vertically until it reaches its desired target. For example, it is easy for cybercriminals to hack an administrator’s account to gain access to the root server and database system. Most companies are also not adequately protected against attacks from the inside, making them much easier to carry out than attacks from the outside. And in many cases, the attacker can carry out his malicious activities undetected. For example, a hacker can trick a user into giving him his credentials, which then allows him to log in as a legitimate user and steal data without being noticed. He could also gain access to a trusted insider, and then lie in wait until he achieves his goal. Without IGA tools, administrators would never notice this because there are no guardrails to guarantee a minimum level of privilege. Finally, the measures that protect against external threats are largely useless against internal attacks, as they are simply bypassed. Therefore, specialized solutions are needed to effectively combat them. How IGA can help mitigate insider threats An IGA tool is a fundamental protection against insider threats. That’s because it addresses the core of what makes insider threats dangerous and effective – identity theft. GA provides a streamlined way to manage an organization’s identities, including user accounts and access rights. Ensure that employees, contractors and outsourced IT departments can only access network resources designated for them. In addition, access rights can be granted or revoked automatically, depending on the situation. For example, if the system suspects that an account has been compromised, it can revoke all privileges to prevent the account from further penetrating the network. This is also useful for tracking down and deleting orphaned accounts that are easy targets for insider attacks. IGA tools also have monitoring and analysis capabilities that constantly check user activity. If an irregularity is detected, the account in question can be immediately blocked as a preventative measure. In other words: IGA is like a watchful eye, keeping an eye on the network around the clock. A robust IGA solution combines user lifecycle management, role-based access control, and automated auditing to reduce the risk of unauthorized data breaches. It also enables organizations to scale and keep up with changing business needs thanks to the following capabilities: Insider threat indicator monitoring Robust monitoring and security analytics detect any suspicious activity that could indicate an insider threat. This allows malicious access to be quickly detected and patterns used to identify potential threats before they cause real damage. A comprehensive IGA solution also helps protect against data loss by alerting when files are accessed without authorization. Such a solution can even detect when privileged users gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and take it out of the organization. With this feature, potential internal threats can be quickly identified and action taken before damage is caused.