Cybersecurity Threats in Digital Banking that Everyone Should Know About
The global pandemic of 2020 pushed every business to roll out their digital platform to keep themselves afloat and reach their customers. And financial institutions are no different! With their digital application available for all, people can now check their balance, apply for a mortgage, and transfer money. All this without much hassle and from the comfort of your home.
As this digital banking sector grows, there is also a growth in the number of cyber threats and attacks. Not only has there been an increase in aggression, but there is also a certain level of sophistication in these attacks. Cybercriminals are constantly looking for security weaknesses and gaps in the banking sphere due to high returns.
Let’s take a look at some cybersecurity threats in digital banking that everyone should know about.
Credential stuffing
Credential stuffing is a one-of-a-kind cybercrime intended to target a banking customer’s data. Cyber attackers will use stolen account information and gain unauthorized access to accounts through automated wide-ranging login requests. The attackers can also use the stolen information to inundate websites and servers to gain access to sensitive IT infrastructure. The whole process is called credential stuffing.
Credential stuffing is quite different from other attack types since it involves using login details that were undoubtedly used at least once before. Hackers or anyone, for that matter, can find the login details on the dark web, which saves time to play the password-guess game. As more and more data gets collected, banks and financial institutions face an uphill task to counter this threat, which will only get worse.
Malware
Malware is malicious software mainly created to harm a server, network, or device. There are different types of malware that include trojans, viruses, and worms. Cybercriminals infect a user’s device using malware to get access to their details and steal it.
With an increase in digital banking, there is a proportional increase in the ability to acquire malware. Generally, most of the cyber attacks in the banking sector are the result of malware attacks. The latest trend is the growing popularity of the malware-as-a-service model (MaaS), where criminals rent out malware to people through subscriptions. They can use the malware to target all sorts of users. According to experts, cybercriminals are focusing on malware that can help them “monetize their victim’s data and credentials.”
Data sabotage
Data sabotage is also called data manipulation or data tampering. Cybercriminals often penetrate a network to make undetected alterations to the data; this is called data sabotage. For example, an attacker can impede a wire transfer to alter the receiving amount details to theirs or put micropayments on the victim’s credit card. Data sabotage is tough to detect as the activity mostly appears legit and turns hard to prove. The longer this attack goes undetected, the more damage it does to the involved parties.
Given the nature of the digital banking sphere, it takes a long time to recover from data sabotage. The banks which suffer from data sabotage have to find the degree of the attack, reimpose data compliance, and build trust with customers.
Cloud Providers
To be clear, cloud providers aren’t the problem; what is happening with them is the problem. Today, cloud services allow banks to increase their uptime, ensure safe data storage, and offset IT expenditure. While this all sounds promising, there are some drawbacks to the whole cloud provider system.
As more and more information is stored on the cloud, specifically those meant for public services, cloud providers have become targets of attacks. Cybercriminals are constantly attacking cloud providers to access financial institutions.
Phishing
Cybercriminals often use the age-old attack trick of phishing to steal user data like login details, credit card numbers, etc. Recently, there has been a rising trend where cyber attackers are targeting bank staff. The attack happens when the attackers trick their victim into unlocking a malicious link, installing malware in their system. The malware will then freeze the system as a part of the attack.
Imagine if a bank employee falls for a phishing attack. The cyber attackers can access the bank’s sensitive data through the employee’s system, send out emails on the bank’s behalf, access other employees’ systems, steal customer information, etc.
Concluding note
All these cybersecurity threats are significant concerns for the digital banking sector. That’s why financial institutions rely on advanced security measures like identity verification and KYC (Know Your Customer). These measures help to thwart a significant part of cyber-attacks happening at both the front and backend. With the amount of data being collected and stored, cybersecurity is a pressing point now more than ever.