Cyber Security: Trends and Implications in Financial Services

Published on 02/05/2020
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Cybersecurity is becoming all the more important, especially as we live in a globalized world where you can earn, use and access money no matter your location. Personal and business banking can be heavily affected by cyber fraud, and financial services companies are well aware of the role they play in making sure they protect the funds of their clients. Hackers are working around the clock to gain access to these funds, so banks should be doing the same. Let’s delve a little deeper into cybersecurity, looking at some of the existing trends, as well as what financial institutions are doing in order to help keep your funds secure around the clock.

Cyber Security Trends And Implications In Financial Services

Cyber Security Trends And Implications In Financial Services

What is a Cyber Attack?

A cyber attack refers to a hack, or unexpected invasion into the digital system of any business, mostly related to financial gain. These are becoming all the more frequent around the world, with hackers improving their techniques in order to bypass systems put in place by corporations and banks in order to avoid customers losing their money. Hackers are getting more sophisticated by the year, and while banks have a role to play to keep your money safe, as a consumer it is also important to research some of the things you can avoid doing, especially in a bid to avoid falling victim to the more common forms of cyber attacks, like phishing, or consumer fraud.

What Is A Cyber Attack

What Is A Cyber Attack

The Risks Attached To Cyber Transactions

Cyber transactions are complicated, largely because of something experts refer to as the number of “false positives” that can possibly arise when completing a transaction. As it becomes easier for consumers to do transactions, especially via a host of digital platforms (websites, apps and more), the variables to detect fraud become all the more complex. Banks and financial institutions have to create rules to discover this better, and while it may be tough for them to tackle all the systems at once, they tend to work on reducing the number as a whole. Some banks process over 20 million transactions each day, so the goal is to minimize the fraudulent ones using the best technologies out there, but naturally, it is a complex process dictated by a large number of uncertain variables.

Broader Regulations Around Cyber Security

A common recommendation from industry experts is that banks should adopt a broad view to provide better cybersecurity. This includes working with the government and other agencies in order to minimize the risks associated with cyber transactions. The combination of data, and machine learning, can get institutions closer to figuring out how to continue to put their best foot forward in an attempt to keep customer accounts safe. A proactive approach is encouraged by the government, but in practice, this requires a lot more manpower, and machine learning is nowhere near being able to effectively detect blips in the system factoring in all possible scenarios in the process. Keep this in mind and do some research before picking a particular financial institution to house your earnings, especially if you have been a victim of cyber fraud in the past.

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