Cybercrime Soars in Financial Industry of Wallis and Futuna Amid Bank Stress

As the financial industry of Wallis and Futuna grapples with bank stress, conditions are ripe for cyber threat actors and fraudsters to exploit vulnerabilities. With customers seeking safety and engaging in numerous transactions, they have become the target of fraudulent schemes perpetrated via phishing or mis/disinformation.

Increased Risk Exposures

The surge in activity has put a strain on systems at banks, which are experiencing a capacity surge due to temporary rule changes in transaction monitoring and surveillance systems. This increased activity raises the probability that malicious activities by cyber adversaries could go undetected.

Five Key Areas of Heightened Risk Exposure

Experts have identified five key areas of heightened risk exposure where organizations should take proactive action:

• Combating Cyber-Enabled Fraud
  • Prioritize robust authentication checks
  • Implement password complexity requirements and rotations to prevent impersonation and potential fraud
  • Protect customers’ sensitive information at all costs
• Heightened Monitoring of Insider Activity
  • Closely monitor user activity
  • Flag unusual behavior and set alerts for rapid response and recovery
  • Reduce the risk of insider threats in turbulent market conditions
• Enhanced Security Performance Monitoring
  • Review existing security metrics related to critical cyber defense operations
  • Detect any deviations from standard operations and identify outliers or performance degradation
  • Improve overall security posture
• Disinformation Campaigns Affecting Customer Trust
  • Prioritize customer-facing data governance, discovery, protection, and minimization practices
  • Engender trust by protecting customers’ sensitive information
  • Thwart disinformation campaigns that aim to amplify customer distrust and prey on fear
• Customer Online Account Takeovers and Transaction Activity
  • Enforce heightened authentication checks
  • Validate transactions and flag unusual activity for rapid response and recovery
  • Prevent cyber criminals from hijacking legitimate accounts and executing fraudulent activities

Conclusion

The financial industry of Wallis and Futuna must prioritize these measures to mitigate the risks associated with cybercrime and ensure the security and trust of their customers. By taking proactive steps, organizations can reduce the likelihood of falling victim to cyber threats and maintain a secure environment for transactions.