ISO 27001 - PATECCO GmbH

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

Best Practices for Successful Risk Management

Uncategorized / Von Ina Nikolova

Markets and their requirements are currently changing faster than ever before. Digitalisation is advancing, and more and more companies are shifting processes to the cloud. Artificial intelligence is producing results that were previously not thought possible – the outcome is uncertain. Considering these developments, smart risk management is becoming indispensable for companies of all kinds. A robust and customised risk management process not only helps your organisation reduce uncertainty. It can also tip the proverbial scales when it comes to delivering critical value to your customers. This article explains risk management, how to implement enterprise-wide risk management and the link between risk management and information security. What is risk management about? Risk management in a company systematically identifies, evaluates and deals with potential risks. These risks could affect the company’s objectives, assets and stakeholders. Every company has its own risks, depending on the industry and context. An effective strategy requires tailored processes to analyse and appropriately manage the risks. As the use of online technologies in the business context increases, so do the threats. Examples include home office and cloud services to which companies are exposed. Dealing with these risks in a planned manner is essential for a company’s information security. Certification to ISO 27001 is particularly important for those companies that work with large amounts of personal data. This is even more true for companies in critical infrastructures, e.g. the healthcare and financial sectors. ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security and lays the foundation for a company-wide information security management system (ISMS), which in turn defines measures for risk management in the company. This makes the ISMS a particularly important element for the long-term success of a company. Development of a risk management process Risk management according to ISO 27001 follows a process that comprises three central steps: Below we look at each of these steps in detail and provide you with useful best practices. Are you ready? 1. Identification and assessment of risks There are various approaches to identifying and assessing risks for a company. Approaches focusing on assets to be protected, on vulnerabilities, on threats and on scenarios are particularly common. Each variant has certain advantages and disadvantages and areas of application in which it is particularly useful.Before you start with the actual assessment of risks, you must first decide on a basic perspective for the analysis. Basically, there are two categories: qualitative and quantitative risk analyses. 2. Develop a risk treatment plan Once the potential risks to an enterprise have been identified and assessed, a risk treatment plan must be developed. This is used to manage or eliminate the risks. Regardless of the industry, four ways have been established to deal with risks to businesses. „Avoiding the risk“ in this case means doing everything possible to eliminate the cause of the risk. This may include stopping certain activities, no longer serving certain markets or no longer pursuing certain projects. Avoiding the risk makes sense above all when the risk is very likely and the possible consequences would be particularly fatal. If a company decides to „reduce risk“, it takes measures to reduce the risk or mitigate consequences. These include the introduction of measures, processes or guidelines. This option makes sense if the probability of occurrence is low and the possible consequences are significant for the company. In „transferring the risk“, the risk is transferred to another party, for example by taking out insurance or outsourcing certain activities to a third party. This option is always chosen if the possible consequences of a risk would be high and the company itself cannot or does not want to take countermeasures. In this option, the risk and its possible negative consequences are accepted. Instead of taking countermeasures, one prepares as far as possible, e.g. through monitoring or contingency plans, and includes the negative consequences as costs in calculations. This option always makes sense if the possible negative consequences of a risk are relatively small and the company is prepared to bear them. 3. Review and check for residual risks After the risk treatment plan has been completed, it must be reviewed for its effectiveness and possible residual risks. If residual risks are identified, they can be assessed using the above approaches and integrated into the existing plan. The final review is to ensure that the internal risk management is designed for the long term and is continuously monitored and controlled. Any changes in business processes or the business context must be taken into account and may lead to changes in the risk treatment plan. Cybersecurity and compliance are complex and becoming more complicated as more sophisticated threats emerge across the globe. Comprehensive cybersecurity, driven by senior management, can provide flexible and responsive solutions to these issues and protect businesses with an exceptionally secure and robust infrastructure. PATECCO offers you competent expert advice and solutions tailored to you in order to optimally support you in your risk management. In addition, we support you with ISO 27001 certification, your DSGVO compliance and develop individual strategies for your company-wide risk management.