Banks manage an enormous amount of highly sensitive personal data, making the ongoing sophistication and ever-increasing frequency of cyberattacks a serious consideration for the banking industry. Banks are also an especially attractive target for cyber criminals since they have an enormous amount of funds, enabling them to satisfy extortionate ransom demands. It is therefore imperative that banks have significant preparations in place to manage customers’ sensitive personal data and prevent data breaches.
What Are Data Breaches and How Do They Occur?
A data breach refers to any number of unauthorised persons receiving unauthorised access to sensitive personal information. In banking, most data breaches are due to hacking or malware attacks. However, payment card skimming, unintentional insider leaks, and the loss or theft of a personal device are all regularly responsible for banking data breaches. There are two types of these attacks.
Network Attacks
Cyber criminals can exploit weaknesses in a bank’s infrastructure to access sensitive data, known as a network attack. This can look like inserting a malicious code into the bank’s database to gain access to sensitive information, known as an SQL injection, a hacker exploiting a flaw or vulnerability in the bank’s software, or session hijacking whereby a hacker gains access to a banking customer’s personal information by disguising itself as an authenticated user.
Social Attacks
Hackers can infiltrate the targeted banking network with social engineering tactics, known as a social attack. This usually occurs through phishing emails, whereby a banking customer is tricked into exposing sensitive personal or company information by clicking on a fake link or email attachment. Spear phishing emails are even more worrying – these are phishing emails that are specifically targeted at the victim so in the case of a financial services firm, could be made to look like they are sent from a bank.
How Can Banks Prevent Data Breaches?
There are a number of IT solutions available to help prevent data breaches which can apply in the banking industry. These IT solutions include email scanners (to prevent phishing), corporate firewalls, web gateways, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Extended Detection and Response (XDR).
Nowadays, AI is an invaluable tool that can add an extra layer of protection. For example, Zero Trust is an AI-powered security framework which requires every user or device to be authenticated and validated before gaining access to any business system. This is invaluable for blocking and isolating malware and ransomware threats and can provide a considerable amount of protection to the banking industry.
Pro Drive IT are a Woking-based IT company providing a range of IT services including IT support, IT audits, strategy, and cyber security across Surrey and beyond. Our friendly team provides specialist, bespoke IT services that cover a range of business sectors, budgets, and use cases. Whether you need IT support in Surrey or you are based in London or across the South East, we can help.
