Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a critical measure for modern cybersecurity. This is especially true within highly sensitive industries such as finance, where the payoffs for criminal attacks are substantial—even from attacks on smaller firms.

 

Cyberattacks on financial firms are on the rise. “In the first half of 2021, the banking industry reported 30% more ransomware attacks than all of 2020,” Forbes reports, where “there has also been a notable increase in the number of security breaches coming from insiders”; notable, these breaches are often “inadvertent, reflecting a lack of security training or oversight” among employees whose credentials become compromised.

 

MFA can help ward off some of the biggest threats facing financial firms, including phishing, ransomware, and spearphishing attacks that seek to compromise the credentials of individual employees. But not all finance leaders or cybersecurity professionals at their firms have implemented MFA to date.

 

This guide helps cybersecurity teams at financial firms understand MFA and implement it successfully within their organizations. We answer common questions about finance cybersecurity, identify what are the weak points of finance cybersecurity, and provide steps to help organizational decision-makers realize long-term cybersecurity resilience.

 

Questions and Answers about Finance Cybersecurity

 

Early cyberattacks on financial firms were largely the work of individual hackers or small groups. Today, however, most attacks come from well-resourced and highly organized criminal enterprises. These groups often have access to significant financial resources, which they use to buy and develop sophisticated tools for carrying out attacks.

 

Accordingly, the payoffs for successful attacks have increased substantially. In some cases, attackers have been able to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from their targets. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provides a timeline of cyberattacks on financial firms with ample examples dating back to 2007; many of these instances feature millions of dollars stolen or millions of individuals whose data was compromised. Given the high stakes, it is no surprise that financial firms have become prime targets for cybercriminals.

 

What is finance cybersecurity?

 

Finance cybersecurity is the practice of protecting electronic financial information from unauthorized access or theft. This includes both personal and corporate financial information, as well as data related to transactions and payments. Traditional cybersecurity measures are designed for environments where financial and personal data is managed centrally, but “as more finance processes run remotely, CFOs need to develop security measures specifically for the finance function and not rely solely on the organization’s blanket security protocols to safeguard financial data,” as Gartner describes.

 

Why is cybersecurity so important for the financial industry?

 

Traditional cybersecurity measures among financial firms involved little more than installing antivirus software and using firewalls to keep out unwanted traffic. However, these measures are no longer sufficient to protect against today’s sophisticated attacks. Instead, financial firms must implement comprehensive cybersecurity programs that include multiple layers of defense. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most important tools for protecting against today’s cyber threats.

 

What are the biggest cybersecurity threats right now for financial firms?

 

Phishing, ransomware, and spearphishing attacks are among the biggest cybersecurity threats facing financial firms today. These attacks can have devastating consequences, including the loss of sensitive data, the interruption of business operations, and heavy financial losses. As we will find, MFA can help protect against these threats by requiring users to provide more than one form of authentication before being granted access to sensitive information or systems.

 

What is multi-factor authentication (MFA)?

 

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires users to provide more than one piece of information to verify their identity. This can include something they know (e.g., a password), something they have (e.g., a security token), or something they are (e.g., a fingerprint).

 

This makes it much more difficult for attackers to gain access to critical data or systems, as they would need to obtain not just a username and password but also another form of authentication, such as a fingerprint or one-time code. Even if an attacker can obtain a user’s password, they would still need another form of authentication to gain access.

 

Why Financial Firms Need MFA

 

Organizations across industries are vulnerable to cyberattacks, especially attacks that exploit individual employees and human error. But companies that deal explicitly in financial information and manage large sums of money are particularly vulnerable in terms of their end-point security.

 

“MFA is a simple solution to lock down accounts even further, especially those with high levels of control such as Finance, HR, and IT,” says Professional Security Magazine. Without it, “anti-virus, firewalls, encryption tools, and more, can all be bypassed if hackers gain access to credentials of privileged users.”

 

Customer data, transaction records, and other types of confidential information may all be available through a single or several users’ credentials. When cybersecurity measures remain limited, each of these can become network points of entry for cybercriminals.

 

Leading Cybersecurity in Your Firm

 

 

It’s time for financial firms to set the pace in cybersecurity; the alternative is to wait for an inevitable attack that could have been prevented. Implementing MFA is a critical and straightforward initial step.

 

Multiple vendors provide MFA security solutions which are available to leaders at even small financial firms. The challenge then lies in implementing them correctly and managing necessary behavioral and technology changes within financial organizations.

 

Five Steps for Successful MFA among Finance Cybersecurity Leaders

 

Although simple in concept, implementing MFA requires an execution strategy, careful change management, and ongoing monitoring and support to succeed. Here are five simple steps that financial firms and their leaders can take to implement MFA.

 

1. Understand Your Cybersecurity Risks

 

Deepen your understanding of the risks your organization faces. This will help you to identify which assets are most critical and need the highest level of protection. It will also help you to prioritize which threats you need to protect against and how best to do so. MFA can help protect against some of the top threats facing financial firms today, including phishing attacks, malicious insiders, and account takeovers. Keep in mind that “an asset with the weakest method of authentication becomes a potential path to bypass stronger authentication for a system that it is connected to,” as CISA describes.

 

2. Align Your Cybersecurity Goals and Business Requirements

 

Ensure that your cybersecurity goals don’t impede your business functions and requirements. You may have employees that need to access digital resources from multiple locations, both in the office and on the move. MFA can help you to protect your data and systems while still providing employees with the flexibility they need.

 

3. Evaluate Cybersecurity Solutions

 

Once you have a clear understanding of your risks, you can begin to evaluate which cybersecurity solutions are best suited to address them. When evaluating MFA solutions, consider factors such as ease of use, cost, and compatibility with your existing systems. Seek out a partnership with the MFA solution provider that best meets your needs.

 

For example, CISA describes FIDO authentication as “the gold standard of multi-factor authentication.” An acronym for “Fast Identity Online,” FIDO authentication “can use secure biometric authentication mechanisms—like facial recognition, a fingerprint, or voice recognition—and is built on a foundation of strong cryptography.”

 

4. Implement Your Chosen Cybersecurity Solution

 

This includes both technical implementation, such as installing software and configuring settings, and organizational changes, such as rolling out training to employees. When implementing MFA, it is important to strike a balance between security and usability. Too much security can make it difficult for users to do their jobs, while too little security leaves you vulnerable to attack.

 

5. Monitor and Review the Efficacy of Your MFA

 

The fifth and final step is to monitor and review your MFA implementation on an ongoing basis. This includes regular check-ins with employees to ensure that they are finding the solution easy to use and not experiencing any problems. It also includes monitoring usage statistics and reviewing audit logs to ensure that MFA is being used as intended and that it is providing the level of protection you need.

 

No Silver Bullet

 

MFA is not a silver bullet. It will not protect your firm from all cyber threats. However, it can be an important part of a layered security approach that includes other measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection, and data encryption. Cybersecurity is an ongoing process, and MFA is a critical part of that transformation.

 

Celebrating Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022

 

At Uvation, we’re making Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 the perfect time to start your own cybersecurity transformation. Contact us today and learn how we support MFA implementation as well as other cybersecurity best practices and technologies for financial firms.