Cyber-heist in banks: Time to improve the cyber-risk posture

With every new digital product or service, there are chances of new gates opening up to cyber-crimes. In the past, hackers have benefited from inherent loopholes in the cybersecurity coverage of the Bank’s overall IT (Information Technology) Infrastructure and Network to accomplish a series of cyber-heists across countries. As seen in the recent cyber incidents targeted at Indian cooperative banks, attackers can use the weakness in the banks’ cybersecurity framework to compromise the existing controls, gain access to the banking systems and debit money from the customers’ account.

In this article, we discuss the various types of cyber-attacks on banks, the current cyber-posture of banks and the possible impact of these attacks. We also highlight the root cause analysis for cyber-incidents in banks, explore a sample attack scenario and discuss the ways through which banks can safeguard themselves in today’s heightened risk scenario.