Communication on the 5G Network can Bring Newer Attacks - Vaibhav Tare, Fulcrum Digital

By Vaibhav Tare, Chief Information Security Officer, Fulcrum Digital

In the world of the internet, implementing cybersecurity has become a necessity, and organizations are taking steps to improve their security system and make sure their network, programmes, data, and devices are well protected. Cyberattacks can lead to a massive blow to the financial sector players and it can become a challenge if undetected or not well taken care of. Cyberattacks can be led by an individual or a group trying to target a system for financial gain, politically motivated for information gathering, or to cause panic or fear. Preventing a cyber-attack from not occurring requires implementation of a well-structured cybersecurity system.

Cybersecurity uses a unique architecture and other reliable technologies to protect organization from cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity is very helpful to an organization when it transmits sensitive data from one device to another or from one location to another. This sensitive data needs to be protected by all means; so, it doesn’t get into the hand of an unauthorized user. A good cybersecurity system also uses enhanced cryptographic protocol that not only protects critical data in transit, but also shields them from theft.

Trends Driving BFSI in 2021

As technology develops, organizations in the BFSI sector face new threats and risks. In the year 2020, there was a significant 273% increase in data breaches, which also means the threat grew both in quantity and complexity compared to previous years. The increase was also reported to be far more than the breaches estimated in the previous year, and it could be alarming. Understanding technology trends can help organization create an up-to-date structure for fighting cyber threats.

Cloud services: Financial institutions including banks, NBFCs, rating agencies, local governments, and credit card processing companies, etc. are increasingly using cloud services to offer more scalable and efficient operation. Its introduction has also significantly reduced the cost of setting up physical workstation and allows organizations to divert these funds to other areas of development. However, this also exposes them to the risk of data breaches if the cloud environment is poorly secured.

Human error such as disclosing access details, connecting to an exposed network service, or incomplete data deletion can cause data breaches. The more popular cloud services become, the more organizations experience growing cloud-related threats. There are few stringent regulatory and compliance requirement like PCI-DSS compliance for all financial institutions. However, it may be interesting to see how these organizations have implemented the compliance and how they are maintaining; there are many areas like databases, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) integrations, and new encryptions levels that need to be assessed correctly. Most of the time an auditor has very low visibility on these new emerging technologies and that may lead to slip in some of the critical areas.

AI integration: AI and ML are beginning to impact the technology space. Recently, we have seen the introduction of automated security systems, self-driving cars, disease mapping, proactive healthcare management, social media monitoring, and more to influence the way people live. AI has also offered massive benefits to the organization that is under-resourced and provides efficient structure to analyze data at a faster pace. The introduction of AI with cybersecurity can detect a new threat and notify the admin when there are breaches.

Data privacy: Protection of data will continue to be a major issue. Organizations will always need cybersecurity to prevent their data from getting into the hands of unauthorized users. Several measures have been taken internationally to prevent data breaches, for example, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which was introduced by the European Union to provide data protection and privacy. Data privacy, when implemented, impacts an organization tremendously and they need to have well-equipped officers to strengthen their data system.

5G network: 5G network is also one of the cybersecurity trends for 2021. It is best known for lower latency, faster speed, and improved reliability. 5G global presence has delivered a new era of connectivity and efficiency. Communication between two devices on the 5G network can bring new attacks that organizations aren’t aware of. Due to its nature, there can be loopholes that will require advanced research to make any system connected to the network secure from external attacks.

State-sponsored attacks: Showcasing superiority will always be common among world leaders. Most leaders often use state-sponsored attacks to spy on other nations. Some result in elections manipulating to have things in their favor. As we progress into 2021, we should expect more state-sponsored attacks.

New-Age Challenges

Cyber threat has become more evident, and its challenges have caused organizations a lot of losses. These losses can be the amount of money spent on fixing the damage that occurred, loss of sensitive data, and fixing a new architecture to the network system. Here is a look at the challenges cybersecurity faced in 2021.

• IoT attacks: Advancing into internet of things (IoT) has become a challenge for cybersecurity professionals. Over 11.6 billion IoT devices have been introduced into the market in 2021 and more enhanced devices will be made available in the later years according to IoT Analytics. These devices such as smart security devices, laptops, mobile phones, and more can be problematic to cybersecurity personnel. Recent AI devices come with new architectures that will take a while to implement on the security system.
• Ransomware attacks: Ransomware attacks are one of the most popular forms of attack. In India, ransomware attacks have become one of the major security challenges and reports indicate that 82% of India’s organizations have been taken down by such attacks in the last six months. This form of attack is unique from the others as it stops the operations of the organization and further causes more loss to the organization.
• Phishing attacks: It is a unique type of social engineering and involves using an advanced method to collect user details such as credit card numbers and login credentials. Compared to ransomware attacks or other forms of attacks, the hacker performing a phishing attack uses the user’s information to shop for goods on the internet or perform illegal money transfers.
• Software and application vulnerability: Software vulnerabilities are also a cybersecurity challenge. Installation of software doesn’t completely solve the issues of threat but ensuring that software is updated frequently. Having the latest version of software reduces security vulnerabilities that help to prevent sophisticated cyber threats. Installation of unpatched software, one that has not verified by a reliable source, is another vulnerability that could be very harmful.
• Bring-your-own-device: BYOD was adopted to reduce the cost of distributing or maintaining a new device. Most organizations have begun implementing the BYOD policy for their employees, and this implementation offers several challenges to cybersecurity personnel. If the device operating system version is out of date it becomes a medium for attacks. The device is also prone to insider attacks where an employee leaks confidential data to outside individuals.

The Action Points

Staff training is very essential for efficient cybersecurity. With this, the staff is equipped with basic training to prevent cyber threats. The training also creates awareness on how important it is for data to be secured and how threats are implemented.

Many financial organizations have legacy systems and applications which are greater threats for customers and data. Hence it is important to stay up to date with the ever-changing nature of cyberattacks to successfully forecast, prevent, and remediate them. It is also in your best interests to have a comprehensive understanding of the industry and the typical risks to which your firm may be exposed.

It is also important to implement the right cybersecurity framework. Besides complying with PCI-DSS, organizations also need to meet the requirements of ISO 27001, SOX, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), HIPPA, GDPR, and CCPA, particularly while working with global partners.

End-to-end risk management: Implementation of risk management along with CISO and CCO is a must for all financial institutions.

Ensure endpoint protection: There are so many sophisticated threats that creating endpoint protection and an optimized firewall to secure the data is a good idea. Also, the endpoint helps to protect the network that is connected to devices.

Threat modelling: This method involves optimizing systems and applications by identifying objectives and vulnerabilities, creating a well-defined plan to prevent any threat to the system. Threat modelling involves concepts like stride methodology, process for attack simulation and threat analysis or PASTA, Trike methodology, and Meta attack language.

Security automation: Investing in security automation will benefit any organization because of the growing rate of data breaches occurring. A research conducted by IBM in 2020 found an USD3.58 million difference in the average total cost of a data breach for any organization without security automation compared to those with security automation. Organizations should also consider having automated tools to collect and analyze data efficiently. This will save the organization more money in the process.