Cyber-Attacks on the Rise

  • In 2015, the financial industry was 4x more likely to be targeted for a cyber-attack than other industries. In 2019, it became 300x more likely for a company in this industry to be targeted (Layton, 2021).
  • Comparing the first half of 2020 to the first half of 2021, there was a 1,318% increase in ransomware attacks targeting the banking/financial industry. This was an extreme outlier compared to other industries from the report (Trend Micro, 2021).
  • Phishing remains one of the top cyber threats for the financial industry. In 2019, Akamai reported that the financial industry made up almost 50% of the phishing attacks recorded (Kost, Akamai, 2022).
    • Comparing the first half of 2020 to the first half of 2021, the financial industry saw a 22% increase in phishing attacks (Kost, 2022).
  • COVID-19 moved shoppers from in store to online which resulted in a drastic increase of online transactions. Since the start of the pandemic, attacks from code that steals credit card information (Magecart) have increased by 20% (Scroxton, 2020).

Motivation Behind the Cyber-Attacks​

  • Companies in the financial industry can store records containing highly personal information such as credit card information, basic customer information, and even Social Security Numbers. The sensitivity of this information makes it highly valuable (Zhang, 2019).
  • This information is being targeted by individuals and/or groups who are looking to sell it on the Dark Web. As of 2021, a single Credit Card could sell for around $17 to $240 based on type/balance/etc. Information for Online Bank Logins could sell for around $40 to $120 based on balance (Ignoffo, 2021).