Financial institutions are a prime target for cyber threats. Last year alone, over $445 billion was lost due to cybercrimes. Banks and financial institutions are adopting technologies and policies to help combat these crimes. Financial Technology Today has compiled some of the top stories surrounding cybercrime and financial institutions. Read on to learn more.
Hackers have stolen about $15.4 million from several Mexican banks by creating fake orders that wired funds to fraudulent accounts. They then immediately withdrew the cash and repeated to process. The attacks were first noticed in late April and were similar to previous attacks on other Mexican banks.
In 2016, hackers used the SWIFT messaging system of Bangladesh’s central bank systems to submit over 35 payment requests to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Thirty of the requests were denied but those that went through took over $81 million with them. Compromises like these are a combination of malware and insider knowledge.
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Cybercrime sometimes seems like it’s unstoppable with at least $455 billion lost from cyberattacks last year. Mastercard is taking the threats seriously and implementing a fusion center, modeled after the Department of Homeland Security’s, to coordinate federal, state, and local intelligence-gathering after the attacks of September 11. Mastercard’s fusion center will collect data on possible cyber threats in hopes of prevention.
“This is not that different from terrorists and drug cartels,” said Matthew Nyman of Mastercard, according to The New York Times. “Fundamentally, threat networks operate in similar ways.”
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For many financial service companies, data breaches are an external problem. Breaches violate PCI and other data protection standards which can result in fines, intellectual property theft, and a damaged reputation. Detecting and preventing attacks can be a tricky business which costs valuable time and resources.
Having real security standards means that prevention and detection need to become the main objective for Sec-Ops teams.
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According to a research paper from UK Finance and Parker Fitzgerald, the increase in cloud-based data storage, AI, and blockchain could constitute a higher risk. These technologies could disrupt risk assessment and management within the industry, forcing banks to hold more capital.
“This process should consider both how to achieve a consistent treatment internationally and also how capital charges could be evolved to place greater emphasis on the effective management of technology and cyber risks,” says the paper.
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