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Cybersecurity for Financial Services

As banking and finance cybersecurity specialists, LRQA Nettitude has years of experience in working with and helping to protect the world’s most prominent Financial Institutions (FIs) and Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) from cyber-attacks.

The Need for Cybersecurity in Financial Services

All sectors face cyber risk, but some are targeted more than others and the finance sector stands out among these. FIs and FMIs are a constant and prominent target for a significant number of threat actors, ranging from organized criminal gangs through to employees. This is because they hold a significant amount of sensitive and valuable information and numerous potential opportunities for cybercriminals to financially gain from their attacks.

The potential for immediate financial gain stems from transferring money, making purchases, or selling information on the black market, these opportunities create low risk and high reward for the cybercriminals, and it is an ever-increasing problem that will not go away.

Quite simply, threat actors are looking to exploit and undermine FIs and FMIs through cybercrime, and unfortunately, some do succeed.

Common types of cyber-attack on financial service organizations:

1. Spear Phishing Campaigns

This is where attackers specifically target identified individuals, with a view of coercing them to do something, like visiting a malicious website or opening an attachment. Spear Phishing, due to its targeted nature, is a very effective threat vector for the delivery of malware, but also for obtaining credentials and/or sensitive data.

2. DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are where the perpetrators can suspend a service(s) sometimes affecting millions of customers at one time.

3. Ransomware

These attacks can and do result in the permanent loss of data and significant operational impact. Ransomware has fast become a prolific problem, and with the rise of numerous ransomware and access groups, attacks now include the stealing and exposure of data.

4. Zero-day Exploitation

Hackers also exploit FIs and FMIs networks through software flaws known as Zero-day attacks. A zero-day is a computer software vulnerability previously unknown. Until the vulnerability is mitigated, hackers can exploit it to adversely affect programs, data, additional computers or a network.  

Cybersecurity in the Financial Industry

The financial services sector has historically had a higher level of cyber maturity compared to many other industries. The industry experiences a relatively high level of regulation, and consequently, this has seen many different tools and frameworks being developed to try to support the industry defend and respond to evolving cyber threats.

LRQA Nettitude has a strong alignment to the financial services sector and has a dedicated team of professionals that are solely focused on delivering services for this industry. 

Through focused research initiatives, we deliver tailored services that focus on:

Core banking

platforms

ATM

networks

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain

Payment networks and payment applications software and services

In our labs, we reverse engineer hardware and software systems to identify zero-day vulnerabilities that are specifically aligned to the financial services sector. These are frequently leveraged by our technical assurance teams when we deliver sophisticated red teaming and attack simulation services.

LRQA Nettitude delivers some of the most sophisticated red teaming and attack simulation services to its clients globally. Our services extend much further than just focusing on identifying defensive vulnerabilities. Through extensive experience in delivering services to the financial services sector, we can also provide robust guidance on how to detect and respond to financial services-oriented threat actors.

Financial Services Cybersecurity Accreditations

LRQA Nettitude delivers services that align with the following financial services initiatives:

NYDFS

We deliver risk assessment and technical assurance services that align with the requirements of NYDFS. We are able to support organizations develop strategies that will allow them to measure and report against this financial services regulation. Through our New York City-based team, we provide strategic guidance and services to many financial services organizations that are required to comply with these regulations.

CBEST

We work closely with the UK financial services regulators to deliver intelligence-led red teaming for financial services organizations. As one of the first organizations to have been accredited by both the Bank of England and CREST for CBEST Threat Intelligence and Red Teaming services, we have some of the strongest experience and testimonials available for global financial services organizations.

STAR-FS

We have been accredited by CREST to deliver Threat Intelligence Led Penetration Testing for Financial Services under the STAR-FS scheme. Aimed at Leveraging on the experience gained on a number of CBEST engagements, we can support organizations in the UK Financial Services Sector conducting Threat Intelligence and Penetration Testing; as well as acting on the recommendations provided, as defined by the STAR-FS scheme.

TIBER (TIBER-NL and TIBER-EU)

We are fully immersed in TIBER (Threat Intelligence Based Ethical Red Teaming) framework, and can provide all elements of the Threat Intelligence and Red Teaming requirements. Our consultants deliver services across the EU, and we have language skills in most EU countries.

iCAST

We deliver services that align with the HKMA intelligence-led red teaming framework. We have a local presence in the region and can support organizations undertaking C-RAF and iCAST assessments. We frequently deliver services that are required to align with iCAST, TIBER and CBEST in unison.

AASE

The ABS has issued a framework called AASE, (Adversarial Attack Simulation Exercise) within the Singaporean market. This leverages threat intelligence and red teaming activity to deliver services that are focused on the financial services segment. Although AASE is a framework as opposed to regulation, we are able to provide full spectrum services that align with these requirements.

GLBA

The Graham Leach Baley act specifically requires financial services organizations to adhere to a series of security requirements, designed to protect non-public personal information. LRQA Nettitude is able to deliver assurance activities and managed detection and response services that are specifically aligned with the requirements of this act.

PSD2

Requires EU financial services organizations to share data in a harmonious fashion. As part of this framework, it gives more control to consumers that wish to move data or services between financial organizations. The standard has a number of cyber-related ramifications, as many providers have opted to open up access to their applications through APIs. LRQA Nettitude provides consulting and assurance services to align with this financial services directive.

For larger financial services organizations operating in multiple territories, navigating all of the different regulations is increasingly challenging. LRQA Nettitude has extensive experience in supporting senior stakeholders to navigate these cybersecurity frameworks.

Our research team launched a review and analysis that compared some of these frameworks in 2019. This can be downloaded here.

LRQA Nettitude Can Help Your Financial Services Organization Become Cyber Secure

Explore our related cyber services for financial services clients:

Cybersecurity Strategy
and Planning

Create a board-level
cybersecurity strategy & plan

Learn More

ISO 27001

Addresses requirements for an information security management system

Learn More

Security Audit

Analyse your IT infrastructure,
exposing weaknesses and
high-risk practices

Learn More

Managed Security

Outsource your network
security services to
cybersecurity experts

Learn More

Managed Detection
and Response

Improve your ability to detect
and respond to threats

Learn More

Red Teaming

Assessment that simulates
threats to evaluate how you
would stand up to a real adversary

Learn More

Social Engineering

Explore human weaknesses
found in the organization

Learn More

Penetration Testing

Evaluate the security
of your system(s)

Learn More

Web Application Testing

Assess applications for
potential bugs before
going live

Learn More

Incident Response

Address and manage the
aftermath of a security breach
or attack

Learn More

Security Training

Deliver security awareness
training for key business
stakeholders such as employees

Learn More

Financial clients are saying...

“The team that worked on our project communicated clearly with us and delivered exactly what we had asked for in the time frame required. Our Account Manager communicated to us at each stage of the process and promptly followed up on any questions had.”

Why Choose LRQA Nettitude As Your Cybersecurity Partner?

Mitigate cyber risk

LRQA Nettitude helps its clients to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals, giving a first-line cyber defence and response to all types of incident, and resilience to stand up to cyber-attacks. It also encourages intelligence sharing amongst the manufacturing industry, and sophisticated testing to mitigate an organization’s risk of a breach or an attack at every level.

LRQA Nettitude’s cybersecurity credentials

As a trusted member of CREST and one of the world’s first accredited CBEST testing organizations you can be sure that you are in the most capable hands.

We are proud to be one of the few global companies that is certified by CREST across all key disciplines. Our team of consultants have achieved the highest accreditations for Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, Incident Response services and Threat Intelligence. In parallel, we were the first organization to be accredited for our Security Operation Centre services.

LRQA Nettitude is certified by a range of governing bodies for our work within highly regulated industries, in the financial sectors and the payment card industry and is approved as a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) company. We practice what we preach and have the highest levels of rigor applied to all the risk management and security controls that are relevant to our organization itself. We are certified against ISO 27001 and ISO 9001.

LRQA Nettitude’s research and development

Through its research and development (R&D) as well as active client work, LRQA Nettitude’s dedicated R&D team analyses and studies threat actor behavior, gaining greater insight into the specific threat landscape within the financial sector. You can also access LRQA Nettitude’s latest zero-day discoveries through LRQA Nettitude Labs and subscribe to receive LRQA Nettitude’s most recent findings as they are publicly released. 

General Enquiry.

Cybersecurity for Financial Services

As banking and finance cybersecurity specialists, LRQA Nettitude has years of understanding and experience in working with and helping to protect the world’s most prominent Financial Institutions (FIs) and Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) from cyber-attacks.

The Need for Cybersecurity in Financial Services

All sectors face cyber risk, but some are targeted more than others and the finance sector stands out among these.

FIs and FMIs are a constant and prominent target for a significant number of threat actors, ranging from organized criminal gangs through to employees.

This is because they hold a significant amount of sensitive and valuable information and numerous potential opportunities for cybercriminals to financially gain from their attacks.

The potential for immediate financial gain stems from transferring money, making purchases, or selling information on the black market, these opportunities create low risk and high reward for the cybercriminals, and it is an ever-increasing problem that will not go away.

Quite simply, threat actors are looking to exploit and undermine FIs and FMIs through cybercrime, and unfortunately, some do succeed.

Common types of cyber attack on financial service organizations:

1. Spear Phishing Campaigns

This is where attackers specifically target identified individuals, with a view of coercing them to do something, like visiting a malicious website or opening an attachment.

Spear Phishing, due to its targeted nature, is a very effective threat vector for the delivery of malware, but also obtaining credentials and/or sensitive data.

2. DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are where the perpetrators can suspend a service(s) sometimes affecting millions of customers at one time.

3. Ransomware

These attacks can and do result in the permanent loss of data and significant operational impact.

Ransomware has fast become a prolific problem, and with the rise of numerous ransomware and access groups, attacks now include the stealing and exposure of data.

4. Zero-day Exploitation

Hackers also exploit FIs and FMIs networks through software flaws known as Zero-day attacks.

A zero-day is a computer-software vulnerability previously unknown. Until the vulnerability is mitigated, hackers can exploit it to adversely affect programs, data, additional computers or a network.

Cybersecurity in the Financial Industry

The financial services sector has historically had a higher level of cyber maturity compared to many other industries.

The industry experiences a relatively high level of regulation, and consequently, this has seen many different tools and frameworks being developed to try to support the industry defend and respond to evolving cyber threats.

LRQA Nettitude has a strong alignment to the financial services sector and has a dedicated team of professionals that are solely focused on delivering services for this industry.

Through focused research initiatives, we deliver tailored services that focus on:

Core banking

platforms

ATM

networks

Cryptocurrency

and Blockchain

Payment networks and payment applications software and services

In our labs, we reverse engineer hardware and software systems to identify zero-day vulnerabilities that are specifically aligned to the financial services sector. These are frequently leveraged by our technical assurance teams when we deliver sophisticated red teaming and attack simulation services.

LRQA Nettitude delivers some of the most sophisticated red teaming and attack simulation services to its clients globally. Our services extend much further than just focusing on identifying defensive vulnerabilities.

Through extensive experience in delivering services to the financial services sector, we can also provide robust guidance on how to detect and respond to financial services-oriented threat actors.

Financial Services Cybersecurity Accreditations

LRQA Nettitude delivers services that align with the following financial services initiatives:

NYDFS

We deliver risk assessment and technical assurance services that align with the requirements of NYDFS. We are able to support organizations develop strategies that will allow them to measure and report against this financial services regulation. Through our New York City-based team, we provide strategic guidance and services to many financial services organizations that are required to comply with these regulations.

CBEST

We work closely with the UK financial services regulators to deliver intelligence-led red teaming for financial services organizations. As one of the first organizations to have been accredited by both the Bank of England and CREST for CBEST Threat Intelligence and Red Teaming services, we have some of the strongest experience and testimonials available for UK financial services organizations.

STAR-FS

We have been accredited by CREST to deliver Threat Intelligence Led Penetration Testing for Financial Services under the STAR-FS scheme. Aimed at Leveraging on the experience gained on a number of CBEST engagements, we can support organizations in the UK Financial Services Sector conducting Threat Intelligence and Penetration Testing; as well as acting on the recommendations provided, as defined by the STAR-FS scheme.

TIBER (TIBER-NL and TIBER-EU)

We are fully immersed in TIBER (Threat Intelligence Based Ethical Red Teaming) framework, and can provide all elements of the Threat Intelligence and Red Teaming requirements. Our consultants deliver services across the EU, and we have language skills in most EU countries.

iCAST

We deliver services that align with the HKMA intelligence-led red teaming framework. We have a local presence in the region and can support organizations undertaking C-RAF and iCAST assessments. We frequently deliver services that are required to align with iCAST, TIBER and CBEST in unison.

AASE

Within the Singaporean market, the ABS has issued a framework called AASE, (Adversarial Attack Simulation Exercise). This leverages threat intelligence and red teaming activity to deliver services that are focused on the financial services segment. Although AASE is a framework as opposed to regulation, we are able to provide full spectrum services that align with these requirements.

GLBA

The Graham Leach Baley act specifically requires financial services organizations to adhere to a series of security requirements, designed to protect non-public personal information. LRQA Nettitude is able to deliver assurance activities and managed detection and response services that are specifically aligned with the requirements of this act.

PSD2

Requires EU financial services organisations to share data in a harmonious fashion. As part of this framework, it gives more control to consumers that wish to move data or services between financial organizations. The standard has a number of cyber-related ramifications, as many providers have opted to open up access to their applications through APIs. LRQA Nettitude provides consulting and assurance services to align with this financial services directive.

For larger financial services organizations that operate in multiple territories, it is increasingly challenging to navigate all of the different regulations.

LRQA Nettitude has extensive experience in supporting senior stakeholders to navigate these cybersecurity frameworks.

Our research team launched a review and analysis that compared some of these frameworks in 2019. This can be downloaded here.

LRQA Nettitude Can Help Your Financial Services Organization Become Cyber Secure

Explore our related cyber services for financial services clients:

Cybersecurity Strategy
and Planning

Create a board-level
cybersecurity strategy & plan

Learn More

ISO 27001

Addresses requirements
for an information security
management system

Learn More

Security Audit

Analyse your IT infrastructure,
exposing weaknesses and
high-risk practices

 

Learn More

Managed Security

Outsource your network
security services to
cybersecurity experts
 

Learn More

Managed Detection
and Response

Improve your ability to detect
and respond to threats

Learn More

Red Teaming

Assessment that simulates
threats to evaluate how you
would stand up to a real adversary

Learn More

Social Engineering

Explore human weaknesses
found in the organization

Learn More

Penetration Testing

Evaluate the security
of your system(s)

 

Learn More

Web Application Testing

Assess applications for
potential bugs before
going live

Learn More

Incident Response

Address and manage the
aftermath of a security breach
or attack
 

Learn More

Security Training

Deliver security awareness
training for key business
stakeholders such as employees

Learn More

Financial clients are saying...

“The team that worked on our project communicated clearly with us and delivered exactly what we had asked for in the time frame required. Our Account Manager communicated to us at each stage of the process and promptly followed up on any questions had.”

 

September 2022

Why Choose LRQA Nettitude As Your Cybersecurity Partner?

Mitigate cyber risk

LRQA Nettitude helps its clients to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals, giving a first-line cyber defense and response to all types of incidents, and resilience to stand up to cyber-attacks.

It also encourages intelligence sharing amongst the manufacturing industry, and sophisticated testing to mitigate an organization’s risk of a breach or an attack at every level.

LRQA Nettitude’s cybersecurity credentials

As a trusted member of CREST and one of the world’s first accredited CBEST testing organizations, you can be sure that you are in the most capable hands.

We are proud to be one of the few global companies that is certified by CREST across all key disciplines.

Our team of consultants have achieved the highest accreditations for Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, Incident Response services and Threat Intelligence.

In parallel, we were the first organization to be accredited for our Security Operation services.

LRQA Nettitude is certified by a range of governing bodies for our work within highly regulated industries, in the financial sectors and the payment card industry and is approved as a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) company.

We practice what we preach and have the highest levels of rigor applied to all the risk management and security controls that are relevant to our organization itself. We are certified against ISO 27001 and ISO 9001.

LRQA Nettitude’s research and development

Through its research and development (R&D) as well as active client work, LRQA Nettitude’s dedicated R&D team analyses and studies threat actor behavior, gaining greater insight into the specific threat landscape within the manufacturing sector.

You can also access LRQA Nettitude’s latest zero-day discoveries through LRQA Nettitude Labs and subscribe to receive LRQA Nettitude’s most recent findings as they are publicly released.

General Enquiry.