INTELLIGENT BANKING & FINANCE
on weak authentication to breach
the networks of financial services
organisations. Stolen credentials,
combined with weak access controls,
provide adversaries with access to
critical assets such as data, people
and systems. Defending against
such attacks comes down to two key
aspects: ensuring the right defensive
controls are in place, and having a
breach plan that enables a swift and
effective response, thus minimizing
any impact.
With the Middle East becoming a
hotbed for cyber attacks, banks and
other financial organisations need
to reboot their security solutions
and prioritise cyber security more
than ever. This can be done by firmly
STUART DAVIS
Director Mandiant
Consulting, FireEye.
146 days as per FireEye’s Mandiant®
M-Trends® EMEA report, and the
scenario looks worrying.
Financial institutions at large tend
to discount cyber security solutions.
This persistent practice obscures
the fact that cybercriminals are
always circumventing vulnerabilities
in an attempt to compromise the
organisation. The cyber threat
landscape thrives on varied motives,
which can range from coining a brand
for the attacking party, extracting
sensitive information, decapitating
the target’s ability to function
seamlessly, or merely financial gain.
www.intelligentcio.com
It is also important to note that
real-world geopolitical, financial
and economic developments
are mirrored in cyberspace. With
cybercrime emerging as a costeffective and low-risk method to
compromise organisations and
undermine customer loyalty, the
Banking, Financial services and
Insurance (BFSI) industry has been
sent into a frenzy.
Cyber security readiness needs
to be viewed as a process that
constantly evolves over time, in
response to the changing threat
landscape. Currently, attackers rely
aligning processes, boardroom
executives, and frontline IT personnel
towards working in cohesion.
Furthermore, it is of great importance
to relay the right resources within
an organisation and encourage a
greater level of collaboration and
intelligence-sharing between banks
to mitigate attacks executed by
modern-day cyber criminals.
While breaches are inevitable,
financial institutions can take
the steps necessary to protect
an industry that plays such
an important part in national
economies, as well as our lives.
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