5 tips to succeed with offensive security in the financial services industry

In 2024, the financial services industry faced a significant increase in cyberattacks, with 97% of US banks experiencing a third-party breach and targeted attacks rising by 109% compared to the previous year. This surge in attacks highlights vulnerabilities exploited by nation-state-backed groups, cybercriminals, and insiders, posing threats to both businesses and consumers by disrupting essential financial services and incurring high costs, averaging $6 million per breach. To combat these challenges, financial institutions are turning to crowdsourced security solutions, such as bug bounty programs and vulnerability disclosure initiatives, which leverage global networks of ethical hackers to identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers. Crowdsourced security platforms not only help fill cybersecurity skills gaps but also provide financial organizations with access to specialized expertise, enabling them to triage findings quickly and integrate security efforts with existing workflows, ultimately leading to long-term cost savings and improved security posture. The blog emphasizes the importance of selecting the right crowdsourced security platform, incentivizing impactful findings, and utilizing analytics for continuous program improvement, all while ensuring seamless integration with existing systems to maintain robust security measures.