Data integrity holds value across industries for securing user information. However, when it comes to the BFSI industry, the sector demands more security. Considering that the banking and finance sector holds users’ sensitive data and information in relation to transactions and their bank details, a data breach can often cause monetary losses and scams. To maintain privacy and build tamper-proof systems across businesses and banks, decision makers focus on cybersecurity.
Such services assist banks and finance firms in safeguarding their data and defending against cyberattacks. Nowadays, banks and businesses are considering vulnerability monitoring and phishing awareness to strengthen themselves. In that case, if you are among those who are contemplating the need for cybersecurity and how it protects users’ data from breaches, you should understand this bifurcation for better comprehension.
Prior to coming to the practices that can assist, you must understand the reasoning behind BFSI-focused data breaches and how attackers penetrate through business software.
What Makes the BFSI Industry a Target for Cyberattacks?
Prior to analyzing the sophisticated techniques cybercriminals use to attack, you must have an understanding of why these threats are directed towards the BBFSI. To fill you in on the reasoning behind what makes BFSI a potential target, let's dive in.
1. Sensitive Banking-Related User Data
Cyberattackers may have a motive-focused reasoning to attack systems. Some may do it for scams, some might go for ransom-based money extraction. With the BFSI industry encompassing the user information related to their daily transactions, banks, and account numbers, it becomes easier for them to extract money and make profits. This is one of the reasons why attackers find the BFSI industry a better target for attack.
2. Legacy System and Software Vulnerabilities
When businesses don’t opt for routine cybersecurity consulting services, they are susceptible to being unaware of their banking software vulnerabilities. This also brings us to the point that the softwares may be legacy systems with multiple anomalies. Such systems invite cyberattackers more than ever, as they have a likely chance of locating a shortcoming to exploit.
3. Third-Party Integrations and Entry Points
Another reason stems from the fact that BFSI softwares is often integrated with payment gateways, such as PayPal, Venmo, and many more. Such third-party integrations open up the entry points to inscribe within the system, if not secured properly. This exposed endpoint makes a backdoor for the cyber attackers to strike at a system with the possibility of a successful data breach.
Major Cyber Threats Against Which BFSI Businesses Need Cybersecurity
Since the target evaluation is done, it is time to asses apprend they techniques cyberattackers user to penetrate into BFSI software. To understand in depth, take a look at the table below depicting the threat type and what is the criteria to breach data.
| Cyber Threat | How It Attacks BFSI Businesses |
|---|---|
| Phishing Attacks | Attackers trick employees or customers into revealing login credentials or sensitive data with executive emails or discount offers. |
| Ransomware | They encrypt critical files and systems during an attack and demand a ransom to restore access. |
| Insider Threats | Such data leaks or sabotage are by employees or trusted partners, intentionally or not, that compromise information. |
| DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) | Attackers overwhelm systems with fake traffic, resulting in downtime and service disruptions. |
| Malware Injections | Cybercriminals inject malicious code to steal data, gain unauthorized access, and spy on them. |
| API Exploits | They exploit weak or exposed APIs to access backend systems and financial data. |
| Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks | Intercepts data transmission to steal or manipulate sensitive information. |
| Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) | Long-term, stealthy attacks aimed at stealing large volumes of data undetected. |
| Cloud Misconfigurations | Incorrect settings in cloud infrastructure lead to data exposure and breaches that attackers take advantage of. |
| Credential Stuffing | Attackers use automated stolen login credentials to access user accounts. |
How to Defend Against Threats With Cybersecurity Consulting Services?
Since we understood the ways cyberthreats occur, it is time to contemplate the ways you can secure your BFSI business with cybersecurity consulting services. These steps in motion assist businesses in the long term and defend them against the threats that lie within their BFSI software.
1. Securing Access and Identity
Cybersecurity experts assist BFSI businesses in building a zero-trust architecture that leaves no window for a breach to occur. With multi-factor authentication, role-based access management, and real-time user behavior monitoring, banks and finance firms can build a resilient system against potential attacks.
2. Protecting Data in Transit and at Rest
To safeguard sensitive financial data, it’s essential to implement measures that secure information both during transmission and while stored. This includes applying end-to-end encryption, tokenizing sensitive information, and using data masking techniques. Additionally, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools help monitor and control access to critical data, reducing the risk of leaks or breaches. Modernizing legacy BFSI systems with these safeguards strengthens the overall data protection framework.
Monitoring and Threat Detection
As we mentioned, data breaches occur due to unpatched vulnerabilities, and cybersecurity experts conduct threat detection drills. This process, combined with security information & event management (SIEM) systems and security operations centers (SOC), assists in locating anomalies within the system for remediation.
Network and Endpoint Security
Cybersecurity professionals understand the importance of network and endpoint security, as oftentimes, these are the focus points of attackers. By building isolated environments for critical systems and embedding zero-trust architecture, they ensure that BFSI organizations are safe from data breaches.
Compliance and Governance
Opting for a BFSI software development company brings in the idea of following the compliance and regulatory guidelines. These guidelines are built by the government to maintain the user’s data privacy across BFS companies. These professionals enforce policies across departments, conduct regular audits, and have a smooth incident report and response infrastructure to keep the BFSI businesses protected.
Conclusion
As we wind the bifurcation detailing the need for cybersecurity for the BFSI industry and network, we hope the segmentation appears resourceful. Once you have apprehended the threats and how to prevent them with cybersecurity consulting services, we hope that you make better decisions. This way, not only do you safeguard banking user information, but you also maintain a positive brand reputation while deterring your business from hefty compliance-based penalties.
Featured Image by Freepik.
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