Here are the most trends that affect it the most:
A growing reliance on banking technology as the industry digitalises has naturally brought both cybersecurity and financial services security into the limelight.
Digitalization will always come with cyber risks, and financial services will always come with security concerns. Banking is among the industries most vulnerable to cyber threats. A lack of financial services security is a gap cybercriminals can exploit, especially as banking goes through a digital transformation.
Introduction to Cybersecurity Trends
Financial companies face much more challenging cyber threats in 2024. Cyber risks boomed as the world shifted online during the Covid-19 pandemic. This trend is getting amplified by the implementation of AI in financial services, as well as the proliferation of AI-enabled cyber-criminality broadly.
This period of innovation is creating a greater array of possible vulnerabilities for criminal groups to exploit – a much bigger attack surface.
This extends to much bolder targets – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in March it was hit by a cyber attack. This is happening worldwide and continues the trend established last year, with Indonesia’s State Cyber Agency (BSSN) recording 350 million cyberattacks occurred in 2023. That includes a ransomware attack on its National Data Centre (PDN).
In previous years, the banking technology security system was linear. In an era with hundreds of interconnected devices, banks have a much more complex challenge to keep their networks secure. Cyber risks are intense and varied, including data breaches, Botnets, and DDoS attacks.
These attacks will hit consumer financial services, through temporary outages, the theft of personal data, and impacting company performance assessments.
Trend 1: AI in Cybersecurity
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has already created huge changes in business behaviour. It has also encouraged a shift from reactive to proactive approaches in detecting cyber-attack patterns.
As businesses are forced to respond to the widespread arrival of this revolutionary technology.
A simple example of threat increases due to AI is the use of generative AI to increase phishing attacks. It is easier to generate a lot more spam than it was before.
A better piece of news is that AI also brings more precision to recognizing cyber-attack patterns. Machine-learning can study cyber threats in depth and both identify them and identify vulnerabilities in financial services security, This ultimately helps fast and effective responses to evolving cyber threats.
Trend 2: Zero Trust Architecture
The “Zero Trust” security model will continue to evolve. This is where every user and devices is considered untrustworthy by default, until proven otherwise.
That means that testing and validation processes will apply for every user or device login. This approach helps mitigate the risk of internal and external threats.
Basically, every user and device has to continually verify that they are legitimate.
Trend 3: Cloud Security:
An increase in cloud adoption through 2024 will also mean a corresponding growth in cloud security solutions.
More integrated cloud security solutions are a natural part of protecting the cloud environment. They are also an important facet of banking technology security strategy, and will continue to be.
Trend 4: Blockchain-based Security
Adopting blockchain technology as a security solution will help ensure data integrity and transparency.
Blockchain effectively shuts off the tap for interference in the creation of the data records that underpin a given process. The lock security system will ensure optimal protection from unauthorised changes.
Trend 5: Increasing Mobile Security
Mobile devices are now an important player in digital financial transactions. That’s why financial services security is also focused on enhancing stronger mobile security.
Banking technology platforms are designed with strong encryption protocols. These will ensure data sent between devices is protected from unauthorised access. That includes bringing multi-factor authentication features, biometrics, and passcodes.
Trend 6: Biometric Authentication
As above, verifying the individual at the point of digital contact is a storing guaerantee of authenticity.
Authentication methods liike facial recognition and fingerprint scanning offer stronger security. This includes multi-modal biometric authentication that is also used to prevent forgery. There are banking apps that require occasional video recordings to authenticate by appearance and voice recognition to approve large transactions.
Trend 7: Changes in Privacy and Data Protection Regulations
Privacy rule changes will continue to evolve following as data protection requirements get stricter.
Banking companies will also follow global regulations that focus on consumer data privacy. Their clients will also have higher expectations of data security.
Trend 8: IoT Cybersecurity
The IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystem requires better security standards and device management in general.
Because IoT functions through the connection of physical infrastructure with the digital realm, penetrations of that infrastructure – especially through physical devices, require tough security measures.
Reducing the risks associated with unsecured IoT devices will be such a widespread trend that financial services security can rely on a huge body of evidence and best practice to control what attack surface is presented,
Trend 9: 5G Network Cybersecurity
The launch of 5G networks worldwide bring with them the network security expectations that any major shift in networking will create.
That requires an emphasis on network security. Faster network speeds with lower latency creates new challenges that need to be solved. For financial services security, protecting IoT devices connected to the 5G network, ensuring infrastructure support, and mitigating the risk of vulnerabilities appearing where network breaks happen during authentication procedures are all areas of concern.
Trend 10: Cyber Insurance
The cyber insurance market will see significant growth in the future.
Because cybersecurity threats evolve so quickly, assessing how to insure for will require totally new approaches across Insurtech, client-side decisions, and consumer protection.
This falls neatly into concert with the need for financial protection from cyber threats. Insurance will adjust to banking technology risks and the changing compliance environment that maintaining financial service security will now require.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity trends encourage banks to improve their security architecture. Old methods used to secure banking technology systems will most likely be ineffective as the demands on banking technology to evolve are inescapable.
Financial companies will need better financial services security capabilities – but they will be able to get them. The industry will respond with more sophisticated security solutions to the increasing threat from cyberspace.
- Cybersecurity in FinTech
