65% of large
Financial Services (FS) firms have suffered a cyber-attack in the last 12 months,
according to new research today from data security provider HelpSystems.
The research with 250 CISOs and CIOs in global FS firms also showed the impact
that Covid-19 is having on FS firms' cybersecurity, with 45% of respondents
reporting an increase in cyber-attacks since the pandemic first emerged.
Securing the remote workforce has become a key objective for 42% of FS firms,
while almost half (47%) have already increased their investment in secure
collaboration tools.
92% of FS organisations have increased their cybersecurity investment over the
previous 12 months, 26% significantly so. The main investment priorities for
CISOs over the next 12 months include secure file transfer (64%), protecting
the remote workforce (63%) and cloud/Office365 (56%).
"It's a highly challenging cybersecurity landscape for the financial services
sector, with many CISOs focused on battling day-to-day threats alongside trying
to achieve broader strategic objectives," said Kate Bolseth, CEO, HelpSystems.
"Technology is a key part of cybersecurity of course, and no organisation will
ever be secure without the right security solutions to protect the organisation
here and now. But of equal importance, especially for longer-term strategic
goals, is ensuring the right processes are in place and educating and training
employees."
The research,
Cybersecurity Challenges in Financial Services, revealed
that the two threats with most potential to cause damage were cybersecurity
weaknesses in the supply chain (46%) and increased working from home due to
Covid-19 (36%). The extent to which Covid-19 has impacted cybersecurity
strategies in FS firms around the world was clear. Around one-third of
respondents had reacted quickly to update their regulatory best practices and
46% had re-evaluated their cybersecurity training and policies to better
reflect the increased home working.
Almost half of respondents felt that Covid-19 has accelerated changes that were
already in discussions, such as a move to Office 365. Such changes form part of
broader digital transformation strategies, which was seen as the main challenge
facing FS, both now and in three years' time.
"FS is such an important sector, the backbone of the global economy, so keeping
it secure and operational is a major priority," continued Kate Bolseth.
"Cyber-attacks are growing in volume and severity, so FS firms need to not only
protect the organisation against day-to-day threats, but also make the
transition to digital, meet regulatory demands, and secure a remote workforce
in the light of Covid-19. It's really tough and there's no silver bullet, just
constant evolution in the face of the changing threatscape."
The HelpSystems report - ‘Cybersecurity Challenges in Financial Services' - is
available to download
here.