5 Security Flaws in Fintech and How to Avoid Them – Latest Hacking News
Fintech – the impressive blend of financial methods and technology has revolutionized daily activities globally. This unique niche has excellent innovative potential and attracts a global customer base. However, the same popularity of fintech has also caught the attention of cybercriminals, thus triggering the need for experts to help fintech cyber security.
Fortunately, it is possible to avoid fintech disasters by correcting common cybersecurity mistakes in the financial industry. This article highlights the most common but 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 when they attract customers to share their data.
Of course, when using fintech apps and mobile banking, customers should be partially responsible for their cyber security; However, not all fintech customers are aware of good cyber security practices.
As service providers, fintech companies must legally ensure that they implement strong security measures in their apps as standard. It includes implementing multi-factor authentication, biometric authentication, deploying strong encryption, using AI technology to detect user behavior and offer risk-based authentication.
2. Use of non-secure payment methods
Fintech’s main goal is to serve customers with fast and easy payment methods, whether they pay bills or send/receive money from others. In addition to ease of use, customers are also looking for security features in apps that handle their money. Therefore, businesses must provide faster and more secure payment methods to prevent fintech cyber security risks.
Of course, no fintech company deliberately neglects security, but vulnerabilities can arise when you scale up apps or expand your architecture. Nevertheless, companies can avoid potential risks by being vigilant, running frequent vulnerability scans and keeping an eye on app security.
3. Implementation of weak backup policy
Fintech directly handles sensitive data, which can be devastating in the event of a cyber attack on financial enterprises. Companies often overlook this critical aspect when designing backup policies, so fintech services should employ robust backup strategies with solid safeguards for data and critical systems. Also, setting up dedicated teams to ensure adequate maintenance and safety is critical to long-term performance and sustainability.
4. Use of public cloud services
While using public cloud services can be beneficial, hiring the assistance of small business providers can also be a risk, as less experienced services are often not as knowledgeable in dealing with fintech cyber security risks, potentially putting the security of client firms at risk .
Fintech firms should carefully evaluate service providers before hiring one. They should look for professional security firms that offer strong security measures to protect web apps, secure cloud, and other resilient features compatible with fintech’s fast-paced environment.
5. Inadequate training of staff regarding cyber security
Like any other niche, fintech requires staff to know the industry’s cybersecurity processes. Unfortunately, there is another aspect that most firms often ignore and inadvertently invite cyber threats.
By hiring well-trained managers, IT teams can plan robust cyber security policies and act quickly in the event of a cyber attack. Fintech firms should also consider running regular refresher training programs for their employees.
Conclusion
Fintech is a rapidly growing and highly innovative industry that requires continuous security monitoring and vigilance. While it is not possible to combat all cyber attacks and ensure foolproof security, designing carefully reviewed security policies will help avoid common fintech cybersecurity mistakes and mitigate threats. This can also be achieved by employing dedicated security teams such as Indusface.
