Cybersecurity has always been of paramount importance for each and every company, individual, and economy out there. But for banks, cybersecurity is quintessential for not only smooth functioning but also for spinning the wheels of the digital revolution. The effectiveness of cybersecurity in banks influences the safety of our Personally Identifiable Information (PII), whether it be an unintentional breach or a well-planned cyberattack. Hence, the stakes are high in the banking and financial industry since substantial financial sums are at risk and the potential for significant economic upheaval if banks and other financial systems are compromised. With an exponential increase in financial cyber security services, there is high demand for the profession of cybersecurity. Today, Cybertech is here with yet another blog on implementing a solid-cybersecurity strategy in the banking sector. So, without any further ado. 

What is cybersecurity in banking?

The arrangement of technologies, protocols, and methods referred to as "cybersecurity" is meant to guard against attacks, damage, malware, viruses, hacking, data theft, and unauthorized access to networks, devices, programs, and data. Protecting the user's assets is the primary goal of cybersecurity in banking. As more people become cashless, additional acts or transactions go online. People conduct transactions using digital payment methods like debit and credit cards, which must be protected by cybersecurity. Cybercrimes have increased frequently over the past several years to the point where it is thought that they are one of the most significant hazards to the financial sector. Hackers have improved their technology and expertise, making it difficult for any banking sector to thwart the attack consistently. The following are some dangers to banks' cybersecurity: 

1. Phishing Attacks

One of the most frequent problems with cyber security services in the banking sector is phishing assaults. They can be used to enter a financial institution's network and conduct a more severe attack like APT, which can have a disastrous effect on those organizations (Advanced Persistent Threat). In an APT, a user who is not permitted can access the system and use it while going unnoticed for a long time. Significant financial, data, and reputational losses may result from this. According to the survey, phishing assaults on financial institutions peaked in the first quarter of 2021.

2. Trojans

The term "Trojan" is used to designate several dangerous tactics hackers use to cheat their way into secure data. Until it is installed on a computer, a Banker Trojan looks like trustworthy software. However, it is a malicious computer application created to access private data processed or kept by online banking systems. This kind of computer program has a backdoor that enables access to a computer from the outside.

Around the globe, there were roughly 54,000 installation packages for mobile banking trojans in the first quarter of 2022. There has been an increase of more than 53% compared to last year's quarter. After declining for the first three quarters of 2021, the number of trojan packages targeting mobile banking increased in the fourth quarter.

3. Ransomware

A cyber threat known as ransomware encrypts important data and prevents owners from accessing it until they pay a high cost or ransom. Since 90% of banking institutions have faced ransomware in the past year, it poses a severe threat to them. In addition to posing a threat to financial cyber security services, ransomware also affects cryptocurrency. Due to their decentralized structure, cryptocurrencies allow fraudsters to break into trading systems and steal money.

4. Spoofing

Hackers use a clone site in this type of cyberattack. By posing as a financial website, they, design a layout that resembles the original one in both appearance and functionality. Establish a domain with a modest modification in spelling or domain extension. The user can access this duplicate website via a third-party messaging service, such as text or email. Hackers can access a user's login information when the person is not paying attention. Seamless multi-factor authentication can solve a lot of these issues. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported bank frauds of 604 billion Indian rupees in 2022. From more than 1.3 trillion rupees in 2021, this was a decline.

Applications of cybersecurity in banking

Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, and the banking sector must take action to protect itself. Hackers adapt when new defenses threaten more recent attacks by developing tools and strategies to compromise security. The financial cybersecurity system is only as strong as its weakest link. It is critical to have a selection of cybersecurity tools and approaches available to protect your data and systems. Here are a few crucial cybersecurity tools: 

Read More: What are the skills that you need for a career in cyber security coding?

1. Network Security Surveillance

Network monitoring is known as continuously scanning a network for signs of dangerous or intrusive behavior. It is frequently utilized with other security solutions like firewalls, antivirus software, and IDS (Intrusion Detection System). The software allows for either manual or automatic network security monitoring. 

2. Software Security

Application security safeguards applications that are essential to business operations. It has features like an application allowing listing and code signing and could help you synchronize your security policies with file-sharing permissions and multi-factor authentication. The use of AI in cybersecurity will inevitably improve software security. 

3. Risk Management

Financial cybersecurity includes risk management, data integrity, security awareness training, and risk analysis. Essential elements of risk management include risk evaluation and the prevention of harm from those risks. Data security also addresses the security of sensitive information. 

4. Protecting Critical Systems

Wide-area network connections help avoid attacks on massive systems. It upholds the rigid safety standards set by the industry for users to follow when taking cybersecurity steps to protect their devices. It continuously monitors all programs and performs security checks on users, servers, and the network.

Top cybersecurity framework for banks

A cyber security services framework provides a common language and set of standards for security leaders across countries and industries to understand their security postures and those of their vendors. With a framework, it becomes easier to define the processes and procedures your organization must take to assess, monitor, and mitigate cybersecurity risk. Let us take a look at some common financial cybersecurity frameworks: 

1. NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The former president's executive order, Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, asked for increased cooperation between the public and private sectors for recognizing, analyzing, and managing cyber risk. In response, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework was created. NIST has emerged as the gold standard for evaluating cybersecurity maturity, detecting security weaknesses, and adhering to cybersecurity legislation even when compliance is optional. 

2. The Bank of England's CBEST Vulnerability Testing Framework

CBEST vulnerability testing methodology was developed by the UK Financial Authorities in collaboration with CREST (the Council for Registered Ethical Security Testers) and Digital Shadows. It is an intelligence-led testing framework. CBEST's official debut took place on June 10, 2013. CBEST leverages intelligence from reputable commercial and government sources to find possible attackers for a specific financial institution. Then, it imitates these potential attackers' methods to see how successfully they can breach the institution's Defenses. This enables a company to identify the weak points in its system and create and implement corrective action plans.

3. Cybersecurity and Privacy Framework for Privately Held Information Systems (the CIPHER Framework) 

Computer systems that organizations, both public and private, control and that hold personal data gathered from their clients are referred to as PHISs (Privately Held Information Systems). CIPHER framework addresses electronic systems, digital information kinds, and methods for data sharing, processing, and upkeep (not paper documents). The CIPHER methodological framework's primary goal is to suggest procedures and best practices for protecting privately held information systems online (PHIS). 

Challenges faced in implementing cybersecurity in banking

However, the challenges in implementing cyber security companies in banking pose a significant challenge to digital cybersecurity in banking. The following are some of these: 

1. Lack of knowledge.

The general public's understanding of cybersecurity has been relatively low, and few businesses have significantly invested in raising that awareness. 

2. Budgets that are too small and poor management.

Due to the low priority given to cybersecurity, it frequently receives short budgetary shrift. Cybersecurity continues to receive little attention from top management, and programs that assist it are accorded low priority. They might have underestimated how serious these risks are, which is why.

3. Identities and access are poorly managed.

The core component of cybersecurity has always been identity and access management, especially now when hackers are in control and might access a business network with just one compromised login. Although there has been a little progress in this area, much work still needs to be done. 

4. Increase in ransomware.

Recent computer attacks have brought our attention to the growing threat of ransomware. Cybercriminals are beginning to employ various techniques to avoid being identified by endpoint protection code that concentrates on executable files. 

5. Smartphones and apps.

The majority of banking organizations now conduct business primarily through mobile devices. Every day the base grows, making it the best option for exploiters. Due to increased mobile phone transactions, mobile phones have become a desirable target for hackers. 

6. Social media.

Hackers have increased their exploitation as a result of social media adoption. Customers that are less knowledgeable expose their data to the public, which the attackers abuse.