Few industries have higher stakes than financial services. The massive volumes of information that financial services companies hold can present opportunities for company growth (even if they don’t adequately utilize that information), but the information can also be a liability if it falls into the wrong hands. As a result, it might be a surprise that a recent survey found that, although cyber threats to financial services companies are rising, preparedness these threats is inadequate and awareness remains low.
According to Longitude Research’s “Cyberrisk: A review of the key threats and responses ahead” study for financial services companies, sponsored by SAS, technologies and response strategies are evolving to combat cybercriminals, but many of the 250 banking executives polled feel their organization still has work to do to prepare. Just one in five executives (19 percent) rated their company as “highly prepared” for a cyber attack, while a vast majority (78 percent) called their company “moderately prepared.”
