FS firms 'at higher risk of cyberattack'

Financial services firms are at higher risk of hacking attempts and cybersecurity breaches than other industries, according to a new report.

An analysis of security data from 225 financial services customers, compiled by mobile security firm Wandera over a six month period, found a higher volume of phishing attacks than peers outside the vertical, with 57% of financial services firms in the study hit by this kind of attack compared to 42% across industries.

Hackers use phishing attacks to extract personal details, passwords or information from an account by masquerading as a trusted actor, leading the victim to open an email, text or other form of communication.

The study, which comprised data from companies with 50,000 devices collectively under management, also reported 4.7 million cybersecurity 'events' across the subset of devices analysed, averaging around 21,000 events per organisation on mobile devices alone.

Financial services was also found to be at a higher risk of so-called man-in-the-middle attacks, whereby a hacker intercepts communications between two parties and alters or manipulates the content to make the parties believe they are directly communicating with one another.

Financial services firms were found to be 36% more at risk of this form of attack, compared to 24% across other sectors, which the study suggested might be due to higher than normal travel activity and public Wi-Fi usage to carry out financial services communications.

The report also included a warning over the importance of lock screens on mobile devices to protect sensitive information, after the data showed that for every 20 people in financial services, one individual was working with their lock screen disabled.

However, when it comes to cryptojacking attacks, where a victim’s device or computer is used by an unauthorised entity to mine cryptocurrency, financial services employees appear to use devices more responsibly than other industries, with the impact for financial services found to be 1% compared to 2.65% across industries.

In addition, more users in financial services maintain their devices with the latest operating system and security patches, suggesting that the industry is gradually catching up with the threats posed by cyber attackers.

Michael Covington, vice president of product strategy at Wandera said: “In the financial services industry, as in many sectors, the security of client information is the most important asset, so it’s disconcerting to find mobile security still an afterthought.”

“Financial organisations are struggling to keep pace with increasing regulations, rapid cloud migrations and rampant BYOD [bring your own device] adoption, among other emerging technology trends, making it crucial that industry security pros work to secure not just the devices, but also the apps installed on them and the data they access.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.


Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.