Scams, fraud, and other cybercrimes have become popular in recent years and are growing day after day, thanks to technological modernization.
After all, with easy access to the internet, computers and smartphones, people have become targets for criminals.
Phishing represents a large portion of these attacks, if these actions are already dangerous for people in general, imagine for employees of financial institutions that have access to various sensitive information.
Thus, the great challenge of these institutions is to protect the data not only of their customers, but also of the employees who are part of the company.
What are the risks of phishing for institutions?
The rapid digital transformation has significantly affected society, which has increased the number of cybercrimes, threatening everyone's digital security.
In a survey of employee security behavior, Proofpoint found that 60% of financial institution employees cannot correctly identify phishing emails in simulations.
This demonstrates a significant gap in training and awareness, which can be exploited by cybercriminals exposing sensitive information, which can have devastating consequences for these institutions and society as a whole.
It is necessary to understand that a data leak does not put only a portion of people at risk, but all organizations, individuals and institutions suffer from the increase in cybercrime.
Representing an even greater risk for financial institutions. This is because when employees of a bank or other financial institution fall for phishing scams, they can unknowingly compromise sensitive information.
These attacks often pose as seemingly genuine emails or messages designed to trick people into revealing sensitive information.
Which can be passwords, account numbers, credentials, or even clicking on malicious links that install malware on your devices.
When financial institutions suffer phishing scams, it is important to understand that the risks go beyond simply compromising an email account.
Cybercriminals can utilize these credentials to access internal systems and extract sensitive customer data.
This type of breach not only puts customer data at risk but can also result in significant financial fraud, where funds are transferred without authorization or accounts are manipulated for illicit purposes.
This causes losses for customers and for the institution itself, which can lose strength in the market, shares and its trust in people. After all, who wants to have their accounts linked to a bank that does not protect their data?
According to the 2023 report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute, it was found that the average cost of a data breach for financial institutions is approximately $5.86 million.
In addition to the direct financial costs, the report highlights that 36% of customers stated that they would leave their financial institution after a data breach, demonstrating the huge loss of trust.
Of that number, 70% of consumers indicated that they would lose trust in an institution if a data breach occurred, even if they were not directly affected.
The trust of customers is very valuable to any financial institution. When that trust is broken due to a phishing attack that compromises your information, the institution's reputation is seriously damaged.
This is because affected customers may seek services from competitors they consider safer, while the affected institution faces not only loss of business, but also possible legal sanctions for failing to protect people's data.
Therefore, phishing poses a threat not only to the integrity of financial institutions' internal systems, but also to data security and customer trust.
What is the importance of phishing simulations?
As we have seen, phishing is an imminent risk for financial institutions, causing serious consequences such as losses, financial problems, loss of customers, and legal sanctions.
Thus, investing in combat actions is essential for these risks to be mitigated. Phishing training and simulations are very important in this process.
After all, they help strengthen defenses against one of the most common and damaging types of cyberattacks.
In addition, simulations are practical exercises that test people's ability to recognize and respond to fraud attempts.
Through these actions, financial institutions can identify vulnerabilities, educate people, and improve their digital security policies.
Increases people's maturity
Phishing simulations help educate people about the characteristics and signs of fake emails, putting them in a real, controlled scenario, making the process effective, and making everyone know how to defend themselves.
It is necessary to understand that criminals are increasingly sophisticated in their practices, making it difficult to identify these attacks.
This situation, combined with the lack of information from employees, creates a perfect opportunity for these crimes to occur.
Because of this, when people are regularly exposed to simulations, everyone becomes more aware of the risks and more skilled at identifying phishing attempts, reducing the likelihood of falling for real scams.
With this, institutions increase people's maturity in cybersecurity, making them a key player in the data protection process.
These actions are very important for financial institutions, where access to sensitive data and systems makes each employee a potential entry point for cybercriminals.
In this way, you transform people from a weak link to one of the strongest links in the institution.
Helps identify vulnerabilities
Through simulations, it is possible to identify which people or departments are more susceptible to phishing attacks.
These actions make a total difference in the awareness process and are very much linked to people's maturity, as we have already commented in this text. This is because not everyone has the same knowledge about cybersecurity.
Phishing simulations allow you to see what the teams' landscape is and how people deal with these attacks. With this, the IT team can observe what actions should be taken.
Allowing the organization to direct additional training efforts or policy adjustments to these groups, addressing specific weaknesses and strengthening the cybersecurity posture.
In this way, financial institutions are able to mitigate risks in a much more objective way, saving time and effort, by adjusting their strategies to the expectations of their team.
Reinforces safety culture
Phishing simulations promote a culture of security in the organization, encouraging people to be proactive about cybersecurity.
By improving employees' ability to recognize and avoid phishing emails, they can reduce the risk of compromised login credentials, unauthorized access to systems, and financial fraud.
Demonstrating to people, the organization's commitment to cybersecurity, increasing engagement and as a consequence mitigating cyber risks.
This is essential for protecting both the institution's data and sensitive customer data, while maintaining integrity and trust in the services.
After all, when everyone in the institution understands the seriousness of phishing risks and is trained to respond appropriately, the security culture becomes more efficient.
Enables regulatory compliance
Many data security regulations, especially in the financial sector, establish requirements to protect sensitive information and ensure the digital security of organizations.
These regulations are designed to protect consumers, maintain the integrity of the financial system, and reduce the risks of cybercrime.
Therefore, performing phishing simulations helps financial institutions comply with these regulatory requirements, avoiding legal sanctions and maintaining compliance with industry security standards.
This is because a data breach can generate a series of sanctions for institutions, making simulations very important to keep everyone aware of the consequences that these attacks exert.
In addition, institutions need to understand that phishing simulations are not just a regulatory requirement, but an essential practice to maintain security in the financial sector.
PhishX in the fight against phishing
Phishing is a risk for financial institutions, causing several negative impacts, in addition to the compromise of sensitive data, which can lead to a series of serious consequences.
This data compromise can have a significant effect on the security of the institution, the protection of customers, and the integrity of the financial system.
Therefore, it is very important that these institutions understand the importance that cybersecurity plays in the routine of their employees. And implement actions that minimize risk, such as phishing training and simulations.
PhishX is an ecosystem that brings cybersecurity knowledge to people and can help financial institutions fight phishing.
Our platform has awareness programs that educate people about the latest techniques used in phishing attacks, helping them recognize and avoid threats.
In addition, it is possible to trigger phishing simulations adapted to the reality of each institution, helping to put people in real scenarios, helping to identify attacks.
Through our simulations, it is possible to extract detailed reports that allow financial institutions to monitor progress and adjust their security strategies as needed.
These actions strengthen the defense against attacks and protect sensitive information and financial assets.
Find out how our ecosystem can strengthen your cyber defenses and ensure the security of your organization's data. With integrated solutions and specialized training.
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