The financial industry faces unique challenges when it comes to effective data protection.
One of the most prevalent is the need to identify and incorporate global regulations into everyday banking practices. This could include client data privacy obligations under the legislation – GDPR.
Recently, Croatia’s data protection agency, AZOP, said it has fined local agency for the collection of receivables EOS Matrix 5.5 million euros ($5.2 million) over violations of the EU's general data protection regulation (GDPR). The company has failed to take the necessary technical measures to protect the personal data of polled people in its database system. It happened the same to B2 Kapital, which has put at risk the personal data of some 83,896 individuals, it added.
What is 2023 looking like for financial data breaches?
Altogether, since January 2018, financial companies have suffered 2,260 data breaches, affecting over 232 million records. But 2023 looks set to exceed this with 521 data breaches recorded up until September. Records affected increased from 24.9 million in 2021 to 29.3 million in 2022.
As we enter the final quarter of the year, 2023 has seen 521 data breaches with 43,596,136 records impacted as a result. Data breaches within the financial sector are on an uphill trajectory with the total number of breaches this year likely to exceed figures from 2022. Many large-scale third-party attacks occurred throughout 2022 and 2023 (such as the MOVEit transfer breach in May 2023 -> MOVEit breach: over 1,000 organizations and 60 million individuals affected). Hackers are targeting companies with large datasets. And financial data is arguably some of the most valuable data to get your hands on.
How to deal with data breaches
The current state of cybersecurity in the banking and financial services industry could be better, but it’s not hopeless. To ward off cyberattacks and fix vulnerabilities, you need to invest in your cybersecurity infrastructure, it also helps to have IT experts at your side. This is why many companies choose to work with a third-party vendor that offers managed IT services.
An IT provider offering cybersecurity for financial services firms will have experts who can help build your network security. They’ll be able to work with you to create a cybersecurity strategy, as well as identify gaps and vulnerabilities in your system. Most importantly, they’ll have the knowledge and expertise to provide solutions that can fix your issues and enhance your protection. Finally, you’ll be able to consult with these experts if you have questions that need to be answered.
Thales CipherTrust Manager Security Solution for the Financial Sector
CipherTrust Manager, developed by Thales, is a central management platform for encryption keys and security policy management. It helps organizations streamline and automate the management of encryption keys across various systems, devices, and applications. By effectively managing encryption keys, organizations can protect sensitive data from unauthorized access and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.
