Manual banking has lost its popularity to online banking. A huge percentage of people now use internet-based transactions to conduct business. But the downside is that there is also a large number of cyber-security threats in the banking and financial sector. These threats are also becoming very complex in nature and have the capability of affecting the economy to a huge extent.

1. Cyber Security threats to watch out for in
2023 - Bahaa Abdul Hussein
Manual banking has lost its popularity to online banking. A huge percentage of
people now use internet-based transactions to conduct business. But the downside
is that there is also a large number of cyber-security threats in the banking and
financial sector. These threats are also becoming very complex in nature and have
the capability of affecting the economy to a huge extent.
Financial institutions such as banks store a large number of private data and
personal information on their servers. Therefore, they must develop and apply all
means to protect their system from the most complex cyber security threats. It is
important to be aware of the most recently developed styles of attacks developed by
cyber criminals.
Data breaches have become extremely common and Bahaa Abdul Hussein feels it is
very important to watch out for these cybersecurity threats in 2023:
Ransomware
Businesses attacked by ransomware have increased exponentially since 2018.
Unfortunately, even to this date, there doesn’t seem to be a definite fix to this huge
problem. Ransomware is a cybersecurity threat that locks out users from their
systems and encrypts their files. Hackers then blackmail to release the access.
Risks arising out of remote work
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is an increase in remote and hybrid work.
There is also more use of cloud-based software platforms. As such employees of
financial institutions are not using their office servers or networks, and there is a
greater possibility of cyber attacks on the data. Thereby, strict surveillance should be
implemented.
Cloud-based security attacks
Cybercriminals are able to easily target data and software systems stored in the
cloud. Businesses in the financial sector must appropriately configure their cloud
infrastructure to protect from security breaches and cloud-based attacks.
Forms of social engineering
The biggest threat that banking and finance can face is social engineering. This kind
of threat makes consumers share confidential information like credentials. Even the

2. staff members can be tricked into sharing secret information. Phishing campaigns
and generating fake invoices which look authentic are forms of social engineering
attacks.
Targeting supply chain
When targeting a software manufacturer, cybercriminals are spreading malware by
sending dubious code to people in the supply chain, especially to customers. They
access the customer network by compromising the distribution systems.
Final thoughts
To protect yourself from possible cyber security threats in 2023, you must be aware
of the different and new kinds of threats. Plan ahead on protecting your data and
also steps to take if faced with a security breach. Thank you for your interest in
Bahaa Abdul Hussein blogs. For more information, please stay tuned to
www.bahaaabdulhussein.com