Report outlines rising cyber attack threat

The global financial system faces rising threats from cyber attacks, according to an annual report from a cybersecurity cooperative for banks. .The annual risk review report from the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center was released May 19. “Lone hackers in a basement, organized criminal gangs, and nation-state threat actors — motivated by profit, espionage or politics — challenge the operational resilience of the financial sector and its supplier ecosystem on a daily basis,” according to the report. The banking sector faced threats last year from supply chain incidents as the sector’s dependence on third-party vendors increased its risk of disruptions that can have widespread impact. Generative artificial intelligence gives threat actors new tools to conduct fraud, and the financial services sector is a major target as ransomware payouts become larger, according to FS-ISAC.“Law enforcement has hobbled many groups, but ransomware gangs have continually disbanded and reformed to evade sanctions, takedowns and prosecution,” according to the report. Both attackers and defenders are assisted by quick technological advances, according to FS-ISAC. Nation-state threat actors are increasingly attacking providers considered important to business operations, according to FS-ISAC. Global conflicts — two being the war between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas — continue to influence attack trends and the world’s defense systems. “The financial sector’s long-established information-exchange mechanisms demonstrate that sharing advanced warnings about threats, developing mitigation advice, and exercising to prepare for incidents protects the global financial system and the people it serves,” according to FS-ISAC. Another common attack is distributed denial of service, which was the most common target of denial for banks last year at 34 percent, according to Akamai. Cybercriminal and “hacktivists” employ the tactic to disrupt operations and break down trust in the global financial system, according to the report. FS-ISAC predicted companies will step up investments in fraud detection and prevention this year as part of a proactive approach to cybercrime through real-time transaction monitoring, new authentication solutions, and updating employee and customer training and awareness programs. Governments will enact stricter ransomware reporting requirements and introduce new penalties for such incidents to improve their cybersecurity postures and transparency. The group predicted that governments will enact stricter ransomware reporting requirements and introduce penalties for such incidents to push companies to improve their cybersecurity postures and transparency.