Financial Institution Cybersecurity Threats and Vulnerabilities on the Rise in South Africa

The Evolving Cybercrime Landscape

The global cybercrime landscape continues to evolve at an alarming rate, with financial institutions being prime targets for threat actors. In South Africa, the cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities faced by these institutions are becoming increasingly complex and challenging.

Rising Costs and Complexity

Global cybercrime costs are projected to reach $13.82 trillion by 2028, a staggering 69.94% increase from 2023.
Financial institutions have seen a significant surge in cyber attacks, with ABSA Chief Information Security Officer Manoj Puri revealing a 400% increase over the past two years.

Expanding Attack Surfaces

The digitization of business processes has expanded the attack surfaces of financial institutions, making it even more challenging to safeguard against cyber threats. Threat actors are constantly evolving their tactics, using sophisticated techniques such as:

Ransomware
Denial-of-service attacks
Supply chain attacks

The Costs of Recovery

The costs associated with responding to cyber attacks are also on the rise. According to research, the average cost of recovery for South African organizations, excluding ransom payments, runs to over $1 million, with 26% of organizations taking between one and six months to recover to full operational capacity.

Mitigating Risks

To mitigate these risks, financial institutions must prioritize cybersecurity hygiene across their entire attack surface. This includes:

Performing thorough risk assessments
Defining data flows
Understanding dependencies
Having the right contracts in place
Implementing vulnerability management, patch management, and automated scanning

Software Escrow Emerges as a Key Solution

In light of these growing threats and vulnerabilities, software escrow is emerging as a key solution for financial institutions. ESCROWSURE, South Africa’s leading software escrow service provider, offers a customized legal agreement to safeguard source code and make it available to the user in the event of clearly defined trigger events that threaten business continuity.

Conclusion

The cybersecurity landscape facing financial institutions in South Africa is becoming increasingly complex and challenging. To mitigate these risks, it is essential that institutions prioritize cybersecurity hygiene across their entire attack surface. By performing thorough risk assessments, defining data flows, and understanding dependencies, organizations can reduce the likelihood of a successful cyber attack.