Top 7 Cyber Threats In The Banking Sector

The prime reason for the importance of cybersecurity for banks is to secure customer data, login credentials, finance details, etc. Due to the pandemic, the world is going cashless. It has led to a surge in the transactional activities accomplished through online checkout pages as well as physical credit scanners. In either case, PII (Personally Identifiable Information) can be maliciously redirected to other locations and utilized for cyber-thefts. This is giving hackers a chance to penetrate the deep roots of the user’s information and the bank’s database”.

Not only this poses a security challenge for the customers, but it can also adversely impact the banking system. If banking data is taken hostage, a bank might have to pay a fortune in ransom. And yet, this is not the sole impact when robust cybersecurity services in banking are not implemented. The customers might have to start new accounts and cancel all their online facilities with the bank. Let’s have a look at the top 7 threats to cybersecurity in banking.

The top 7 threats to cybersecurity in the banking sector are –

1. Unencrypted Data

This is a crucial aspect of cyber safety. Encryption must be done on all data that is stored within the servers of financial institutions or online. This provides the first layer of the buffer as the data can not be immediately utilized even if it gets stolen by the hackers. However, unencrypted data can be used right away, posing severe challenges for the financial institution.

2. Spoofing

Spoofing is a new type of cybersecurity threat where hackers impersonate the URL of a banking website and make it look and function precisely in the same way. When a user provides his/her login credentials, the information is stolen by hackers. New spoofing techniques can even utilize similar URLs to target users who have visited the correct URL. As a financial institution/bank, it is necessary to mitigate threats and provide customers with seamless services.

3. DDoS Attacks

DDoS stands for distributed denial-of-service. These types of attacks slow down websites and make them vulnerable to users. They can silence websites and disrupt business flows at inexpensive rates resulting in reputation damages financial losses for the banking system.

4. Backdoors And Supply-Chain Attacks

Targeted attacks usually utilize “backdoors”– apps to acquire remote access– in the second/third phase of the attack. They access the network by bypassing the intrusion detection systems. Connect-back techniques, Port binding, Connection availability abuse, Common service protocols, Legitimate platform abuse, etc. are examples of backdoor attacks.

5. Global Risks

Globalization has helped businesses operate internationally by blurring state lines. This enhancement in operational size means an uptick in operational risk. Financial services are particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats as cybercriminals target the financial sector for colossal monetary gains.

6. Emerging Technologies

Emerging technologies are necessary & provide a competitive edge to any institution. However, it also brings additional risks. Hackers can be ahead in the learning curve & find ways to utilize IoT & blockchain for attacks.

7. Large user population

The ever-increasing and complex population accessing banking & finance services is a liability. From customers to staff-side users accessing NetBanking, the banking sector has to deal with an array of touchpoints having little/no control over the user interactions. These increased touchpoints provide the ideal scenario for cybercriminals to attack. For instance, users’ personal devices can be utilized by hackers to breach financial networks if the users abandon the requisite security features. Mobile Application Penetration Testing can prove to be effective to detect & eliminate loopholes.

Conclusion

Despite these vulnerabilities, the banking industry has opportunities to improve. By focusing on the cybersecurity essentials for banks and financial institutions, it is possible to reduce risks while adopting technologies to provide seamless banking service. In the banking industry, you must be double-checking on areas such as web services/apps penetration testing, network security assessment (Internal/External), among other things. At Ksolves, our cybersecurity experts thoroughly analyze a financial institution/bank’s operations and create a blueprint for robust security architectures that can repel cybersecurity threats to financial institutions.

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