Cybersecurity has always been a major concern since the advancements in the digital world have become popular. Since everything has become digital this has made a few realizations that not everything online is safe, there are a lot more threats online than there were traditional.
With the rise of the internet, cybersecurity has always been a major concern. Due to the widespread adoption of electronic communication methods, consumers have realized that digital activities do not provide comprehensive digital security to avoid cyber threats.
What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the activity of defending digital systems and devices from malicious attackers. It has grown in importance for financial institutions that focus on providing their services online to safeguard their customers’ assets and online financial transactions. Attackers may leverage even the smallest breach to identify a vulnerability in the organization’s systems, severely harming users’, and digital banks’ important data. A strategy aligned with procedures enables digital banks to guarantee the security of the sensitive data kept in their systems, preventing severe financial damage to their consumers, and ensuring a reliable reputation among stakeholders.
Why Cybersecurity is necessary for Digital Banking?
Digitization has had a significant impact on banking technology, which has resulted in several challenges. Cybersecurity threats are a major one. Daily, Financial Institutes process millions of transactions. Therefore, financial services providers like banks, credit card companies, credit unions, and investment firms must implement preventative security measures to protect their data from cyberattacks.
A successful digital revolution depends on the use of data-protection techniques and practices. Banking activities relies on trust and credibility; thus, it’s the cybersecurity is even more critical.
Everyone is going cashless, utilizing debit and credit cards. In this scenario, it’s crucial to implement cybersecurity safeguards to secure the customers’ data and privacy. Data leaks make financial institutions untrustworthy and that’s a concern for banks. Weak cybersecurity can lead to data breaches that drive customers away. When bank data is breached, customers lose time and money, and the recovery activity which includes canceling cards and examining statements is very time-consuming. Even if the cards are canceled, and fraud is stopped, customer data is sensitive and could be exploited against customers. That’s why banks, more than any other firm, need to be on their guard more than most other financial institutes.
Cyberthreats for financial institutions in digital banking
- Identity Theft
Since it is so simple to steal someone’s online footprint, there has been a high incidence of identity thefts throughout time. As an illustration, people who have stolen credit cards will be capable of making transactions online, while they won’t be able to make them in person due to security measures put in place by MasterCard, Europay, and Visa (EMV). Cyber attackers can steal identities with or without a credit card. Attackers may intrude on financial firms’ databases to take consumer account information. In other words, thieves won’t need to interact personally with the victims to steal their identities.
- Malware
Computers and mobile devices, which are end-to-end customer appliances and are frequently used for online payments, should be protected. If it is connected to malware, connecting to your system could put the bank’s cyber security in danger. This network carries sensitive information, and if a user’s device has malware installed on it, that virus might pose a major threat to the bank’s network in the absence of adequate security.
- Data Manipulation
One common misconception regarding cyber-attacks is that they exclusively concern themselves with data theft. However, given that data manipulation assaults have increasingly increased in popularity as a technique of attack for hackers, this is not always the case. Attacks involving data manipulation occur when a risky actor acquires access to an objective system and modifies data covertly for their gain. An illustration of this would be if a worker changed client information. This will probably go unnoticed because the transactions will seem legitimate, which will cause mistakes in the way that data is stored going forward. The more damage the manipulation does, the longer it remains unnoticed.
Cybersecurity Framework
Cyber security framework for banks varies based on the individual demands and threats of each bank. It’s important to note that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has produced a Cybersecurity Framework for banks, as has the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
For the most part, banks should search for a comprehensive and adaptable cyber security framework to customize it to their risks and requirements. As threats and vulnerabilities evolve, the framework should be adjusted accordingly.
More new advancements and innovations are being created in the field of cyber security because of increased understanding, investments, and progress in technology. Financial institutions can protect their data from hackers thanks to developments in technology and emerging cybersecurity trends.
In the next blog, we’ll look at the most popular developments/trends in cyber security.
Read: Digital Banking Platforms-A New and Rising Trend in Industry
