Fintech – the impressive amalgam of financial methods and technology has revolutionized day-to-day activities globally. This unique niche bears excellent innovative potential and attracts a global customer base. However, the same popularity for fintech has also caught the attention of cybercriminals, thus triggering the need for experts to help secure fintech cybersecurity.
Fortunately, avoiding fintech disasters is possible by correcting common cybersecurity mistakes in the finance industry. This article highlights the most common yet serious security issues affecting the fintech industry.
Top Fintech Cybersecurity Mistakes That Can Be Easily Avoided
1. Poor Digital Identity Management
Fintech firms are directly responsible for the security of digital identities as they attract customers into sharing their data.
Of course, when using fintech apps and mobile banking, customers should be partly responsible for their cyber safety; however, not every fintech customer is aware of good cybersecurity practices.
As service providers, fintech businesses must legally ensure they are deploying strong security measures in their apps by default. That includes implementing multi-factor authentication, biometric authentication, deploying strong encryption, using AI technology to detect users’ behavior, and offering risk-based authentication.
2. Using Non-Secure Payment Methods
Fintech’s prime target is to serve customers with quick and easy payment methods, whether paying bills or sending/receiving money from others. Besides the usability benefit, customers also look for security features in apps that deal with their money. Hence, businesses must ensure faster and more secure payment methods to help prevent fintech cybersecurity risks.
Of course, no fintech business ever neglects security deliberately, however, vulnerabilities may arise when scaling up apps or expanding architecture. Nonetheless, companies can avoid potential risks by being vigilant, running frequent vulnerability scans, and keeping an eye on app security.
3. Implementing Weak Backup Policy
Fintech directly deals with sensitive data, which can be devastating in the case of cyber attacks on financial enterprises. Companies often neglect this critical aspect when designing backup policies, therefore, fintech services should apply robust backup strategies with solid security measures for data and critical systems. Moreover, setting up dedicated teams to ensure adequate backup maintenance and security is crucial for long-term performance and sustainability.
4. Using Public Cloud Services
While utilizing public cloud services can be beneficial, hiring assistance from small business providers can also be a risk, that’s because less experienced services are often not as knowledgeable at handling fintech cybersecurity risks, potentially putting the security of client firms in danger.
Fintech firms should carefully review service providers before hiring one. They should look for professional security firms offering strong security measures to protect web apps, secure cloud, and other resilient features compatible with fintech’s fast-paced environment.
5. Inadequate Staff Training Regarding Cybersecurity
Like any other niche, fintech requires the staff to know the industry’s cybersecurity processes. Unfortunately, that’s another aspect that most firms often ignore and inadvertently invite cyber threats.
Employing well-trained managers empowers IT teams to plan robust cybersecurity policies and act quickly in case of cyberattacks. Fintech firms should also consider running regular refresher training programs for their staff.
Conclusion
Fintech is a rapidly growing and highly innovative industry that demands continuous security monitoring and vigilance. Although not possible to combat every cyberattack and ensure fool-proof security, designing carefully reviewed security policies will help avoid common fintech cybersecurity mistakes and alleviate threats. This can also be achieved by hiring dedicated security teams like Indusface.