New figures show that the financial sector is at greatest risk from cyber attacks. This underlines the overwhelming need for workers in this sector, more than any other, to increase their cyber security and protection.
Netwrix research shows that more than three-quarters (77%) of financial organizations will have discovered an attack on their infrastructure by 2023, compared to around two-thirds (68%) of other sectors.
The figures come from a survey of more than 1,600 IT and security professionals in more than 100 countries.
Financial workers are at greatest risk from cyber attacks
The tendency of attackers to focus on financial services means that employees in the sector are at higher-than-average risk from threats such as phishing and other attacks, which can ultimately put their organization at risk.
Netwrix VP Security Research, Dirk Schrader, commented: “Financial organizations are highly targeted by cybercriminals for a variety of reasons. First, these organizations store large amounts of valuable information, which adversaries are naturally eager to steal. In addition, they control access to funds, which means any operational disruption is highly problematic.”
Schrader added that ransomware gangs believe financial institutions are more likely to pay larger ransoms than other sectors.
A higher than average number of financial institutions also rated their attacks as more expensive.
However, the company's security strategist Ilia Sotnikov emphasized that financial organizations tend to have a “more mature” team of IT and security staff, due to the high-risk nature of the sector.
Three-quarters (73%) of respondents from the financial sector say they have a cybersecurity policy or will do so within a year. The average for all sectors was 59%.
Looking ahead, Netwrix has identified a number of important areas for improvement. To meet insurance requirements, companies increasingly need to improve identity and access management and privileged access management.