The necessity for cybersecurity in the financial services fields has been greater than ever. Financial Institutions have been and will be the subject of cyberattacks by all kinds of rivals. In 2020, 86% of breaches were commercially motivated, and the records exposed in all breaches were increased by 284%. Given the sum of this subject, these are the top trends that were spotted this year in cybersecurity.
On dark net, crime does pay
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, chances are that cybercrime activity will exceed 6 trillion dollars annually by 2021 up comparing to 3 trillion in 2015. The dark net has become a flourishing market where criminals of all kind can be capable of committing sophisticated attacks. In many ways, the dark web has commoditized attack tools while also providing a means of trading the spoils of an exploit. Using Bitcoin and a Tor Browser, a wannabe invader, now has access to plenty of malicious capabilities. With lowering entry barriers and the financial payoff, it is expected that cybercrime will continue its quick acceleration.
Intelligence is good
As concluded by many Financial Institutes, cyber threat intelligence is a critical component of a successful cyber program. Understanding rival tendencies can help a firm get ahead and react rapidly before or after an attack. Many companies have set up “Cyber Fusion Centers” to simplify this interaction. Nevertheless, there are significant challenges in the functioning operation of intelligence by prioritizing the activities of computer protectors. A significant problem is the large amount of data available from several sources, and the challenges that contribute to fragmenting defensive processes such as attack surface reduction, establishing detection logic, and informing red team scenarios by breaking it down into operational intelligence. To this must be added the fact that the security and instrumentation technologies that exist today are generally not well integrated. In the future, we are expected to continue to focus on the development of the next-generation “Cyber Fusion Centers”, which will extract the value of information on cyber threats in a simpler and more efficient way.
Agile is the key to survival
Modern customers need the ability to transact entirely and securely in the digital field and different competitors are offering new varieties on a daily basis. Obviously, keeping up in today’s world of fast digital transformation means embracing agile development. When done well, agile allows Financial Institutions to keep up with the rapid pace of industrial change; though, building security into the process presents a whole new bunch of issues. Clearly, traditional approaches to building security cannot keep up. To succeed, agile teams need a deeper understanding of security issues, willingness to take on new practices, and increased responsibility for their security systems. Additionally, security professionals need to work faster and learn to view cyber risks more gradually. While all of these changes are possible, success often requires changing deep-rooted cultural drivers and incentives. This will not happen without a clear plan and a structural commitment at all levels.
All you need is people
According to “Internet Systems Consortium” , the number of vacant cyber positions currently stands at 4 million professionals worldwide. Add to this the fact that, according to the 2021 Verizon Data Breach report, nearly half all cyber incidents related to financial services are attributable to acts committed by people. Obviously, we have a significant human issue.
What the future holds
Looking ahead, it’s clear that numerous factors increase cyber risk for financial institutions. Market forces continue on pushing them to quick and comprehensive inclusive transformation, accelerating the adoption of technologies such as agile and increasing vulnerability to many inherent security challenges. Furthermore, the combination of a growing talent shortage and rapid rise in cybercrime are trends that will continue for some time. Financial Institutions investing in technology and processes, such as cyber fusion centers, secure agile and cyber talent development, can significantly reduce cyber risk and greatly increase the likelihood that attackers will look elsewhere to exploit simpler goals.
