Fintech companies are at the forefront of innovation, developing unique products that have changed the financial sector. However, as these companies have grown, so have the security challenges. The financial sector has always attracted malicious actors looking to steal funds, and fintech growth has placed them in those crosshairs.
Ransomware protection is an increasingly hot topic in fintech circles as criminals begin to hold more platforms hostage than ever before. The ransomware attack on Finastra was one of many incidents involving fintech in recent years, and this number is set to grow.
Here's how fintech companies can protect themselves against ransomware attacks.
Educate Employees
Cybersecurity professionals often say that humans are the weak link in any company's security chain. Human beings are vulnerable to threats because of the opaque nature of most malicious attempts. For instance, every employee understands the dangers of phishing.
However, an email from the CEO is unlikely to trigger any phishing alarms. Similarly, a hacker posing as a trusted employee demanding passwords is not going to trigger alarm bells.
Modern fintech companies must educate their employees on security best practices by focusing on changing their behavior, not merely raising their awareness. The best way to raise awareness is to give employees simulation platforms to test their cyber awareness skills.
Simulation platforms give employees a secure sandbox to test their skills. In addition, these platforms also tailor learning paths based on current skills. For instance, a technically proficient employee needs a different training path compared to a business user.
By prioritizing security training in this fashion, companies can ensure their employees are engaged and view cybersecurity as a pivotal part of what the firm does. Delivering training through seminars and lengthy presentations turns people off and gets them viewing security as an appendage.
These measures will ensure fintech company employees are always on the lookout for potentially malicious breach attempts, reducing the chances of a ransomware attack.
Secure Network Perimeters
A fintech company's network perimeter is a vulnerable area. With the rise of modern working practices, like remote work, security teams face huge burdens in ensuring their perimeters are secure. The primary challenge they face is defining the perimeter itself.
For instance, employees logging into systems from home networks inadvertently stretches the network perimeter. In such cases, prescribing VPN use is essential since it encrypts data and ensures employees log in through secure channels no matter the network they use.
Installing endpoint detection and response (EDR) software is standard practice. However, security teams must back this software up with good processes. For instance, EDR platforms will detect and mitigate smaller threats. However, security teams must define exception workflows.
How will they handle issues that the EDR platform cannot mitigate? Who will they direct those approvals to? Answering these questions is critical to securing endpoint responses and preventing lateral threat movement within systems.
Fintech security teams must also adopt best-of-breed solutions in other areas of their security
infrastructure and integrate them into a security operations command (SOC) platform. When backed with the right processes, fintech companies can stay on top of threats and mitigate them quickly before they turn into massive issues.
Review Disaster Management Plans
Most fintechs have a disaster and business continuity plan in place but few review them to make sure it's current. These plans account for worst-case scenarios and they can seem pessimistic. However, modern fintechs must assume a zero-trust approach that assumes they're constantly under threat.
A good disaster management plan defines and enforces approaches that ensure business continuity when under attack. For example, offsite servers are a staple of every disaster management scenario.
However, successful fintechs will establish this infrastructure, maintain it, and ensure data transfers to this off-site occur regularly.
When an attack occurs, a fintech has everything to continue business instead of caving into malicious actor demands. Fintechs must also communicate disaster management plans to employees to make sure they access the right channels.
A good disaster management plan simplifies event handling, ensuring as smooth an experience as possible even when under attack.
Curb Infrastructure Sprawl
Modern fintechs use a range of distributed infrastructure that can be tough to monitor. Add to this picture the automated nature of most processes and security teams experience an uphill climb in maintaining secure practices.
Integrating this sprawled infrastructure with API-based tools to automate routine security tasks is a critical task. These tools reduce the burden on security teams, giving them ample chances to follow up on complex tasks that make a difference to the company's security posture.
An API-based security tool also removes any need to compromise on infrastructure choices. For instance, adding a new cloud server might introduce too many security risks due to a lack of integration. However, an API-based security tool can bring this server into the fold, removing any need for compromise.
Fintech Security is Paramount
Modern fintechs face security challenges all the time. The practices listed in this article offer them great ways to secure infrastructure, reducing the odds of a malicious ransomware attack that cripples their business.
