Focus on Cybersecurity: Financial Services

Whether for monetary gain or to disrupt business operations, cybercriminals have made financial organizations a top target. A cyberattack can compromise systems that drive operations and can expose clients’ personal financial data. This can result in millions of dollars in fines and lost revenue, an incalculable amount of damage to a financial firm’s reputation and even general destabilization of the economy. While most financial organizations recognize this and have strong preventative security controls in place, clever social engineering and one wrong click by an employee can open the door to a company’s network.

Financial services firms are 300 times more likely to be attacked than other companies, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.¹ Finance and insurance companies tend to experience a higher volume of attacks relative to other industries and have been the most attacked industry for four consecutive years, according to the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, accounting for 17 percent of all attacks.²

Top financial services security challenges

Types of cyberattacks experienced by financial services³

eSentire: Observing risks to the financial industry for two decades

We understand the unique challenges your cybersecurity team faces. For two decades, we’ve seen the dynamic nature of threats that specifically target financial organizations and their partners. For example, in 2019 our Security Operation Centers (SOCs) detected an alarming number of threat actors that were able to bypass financial service providers’ existing security controls. Based on eSentire SOC data, the below chart shows that for every additional location, the risk of an incident getting past your traditional security controls significantly increases.

Observed probability of one or more security events due to a bypass of existing security controls per location

Financial services firms are hit by security incidents 300 times more frequently than businesses in other industries, as attackers focus on targets that will give them the biggest return on their investment.⁴ And since financial organizations regularly handle highly sensitive personal financial information (such as social security numbers, home addresses and banking information), failing to maintain compliance and protect customer data can be disastrous for a company. The financial industry has experienced a 3x increase in the number of breaches since 2016.⁵

Data breach costs are the second highest amongst observed industries⁶, due to the complicated nature of the way financial companies conduct business and their high value as a target to sophisticated cyberattackers. Meanwhile, cybersecurity teams continue to see rising timeframes to identify and contain security incidents, further underscoring the need for a tight security program.

A comprehensive approach to protecting financial companies

Whether your organization is a small credit union, a bank or a large financial services organization with multiple facilities, threat actors are going to capitalize on vulnerable systems and human nature. Ultimately, the difference between business protection and business disruption will come down to the speed at which you can identify and contain an attack.

At eSentire, our comprehensive approach helps organizations test, mature, measure and protect customers’ environments from a multitude of risk factors. Our Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services rapidly identify and contain threats that bypass traditional security controls. Ingesting signals from your on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments, we combine endpoint, network, log, vulnerability and cloud data to identify known and elusive threats.

Averaging 20 minutes from identification to containment, we ensure attackers don’t have the time to achieve their objectives. Our managed risk programs test your existing defenses against simulated attacks, assess and measure your security posture and pave a path for resiliency that aligns to regulatory frameworks. All of these services are supported by a dedicated team focused on delivering in accordance with your organization’s unique requirements and business objectives.

eSentire service alignment to the finance industry's top challenges

Helping your organization meet regulatory requirements

The federal government imposes stiff penalties for non-compliance with regulatory rules regarding cybersecurity. Oversight is expected to increase, putting additional pressures on constrained security teams. Our MDR and Managed Risk Programs are designed to help you navigate the complexity of GLBA, SOX, NYCRR and PCI DSS standards and put in place corrective controls.

Experience the eSentire difference

Organizations all over the world trust eSentire as their last line of defense and trusted advisor against an overwhelming threat landscape. Our 92 percent client retention rate is testament to delivering on our core mission: a client’s network can never be compromised. Our specialized teams that deliver and support our services are consistently developing the latest methods that ensure your organization is protected against the latest threat actors and aligned to stringent HIPAA requirements that keeps your patients, employees and systems safe from disruption.