Top 3 Mobile banking security threats and countermeasures offered by Build38

71% of all data breaches are financially motivated, causing companies to spend up to $18.3 million annually per company in cyberattack costs.  

With the rise of mobile banking, more consumers are able to make payments and transfer funds directly from their smartphones or tablets. While this revolution in banking services has been widely adopted, it has also made financial institutions vulnerable to cybercriminals, who have figured out how to take advantage of digital channels to commit fraud and steal money from the accounts of unsuspecting victims.  

Read on to find out more about the top 3 mobile banking challenges and how we  can help you mitigate them through security measures. 

Cybercriminals Targeting Mobile Banking Industry  

Mobile banking has been an incredible opportunity for many users all over the world, as it provides a great way to manage your finances on-the-go. However, with mobile banking applications enabling you to make transactions via your smartphone or tablet, cyber threats are rising. With thousands of mobile banking apps in the market, cybercriminals have a high number of targets at their disposal, meaning they can easily infiltrate banks by using fake websites that steal customer’s information through phishing attacks and Trojans. 

Banking industry has seen a staggering 1318% increase in ransomware attacks last year. It may not come as a surprise for you to know that one of the primary motivations of cybercriminals is financial gain. In fact, experts report that over 71% of all data breaches are financially motivated. Mobile banking is growing rapidly as users continue to prefer mobile banking over other banking means. A study conducted by Google found that 6 out of every 10 mobile users prefer finance apps over websites or other platforms. 

Due to the growing pool of mobile banking application users worldwide, cybercriminals now have a wider range of users to target. The cyberattacks on the finance and banking industry are also surging at an eye-watering rate. According to VMware, the first half of 2021 saw a 238% increase in cyberattacks targeting financial institutions, while the cost of cyberattacks in the banking industry reached $18.3 million annually per company. In addition to this, security vulnerabilities in mobile banking applications are continuously being exploited by cybercriminals through modern attack vectors and exploitation techniques. 

You might be interested in: The impact of PSD2 on your financial app  

Top 3 Finance & Banking Mobile App Security Challenges 

Due to the increasing adoption of mobile banking and surging cybersecurity threats, it has become imperative for businesses and mobile banking consumers to pay more attention to mobile applications and digital security in order to tackle modern threats. Below are the three most common security challenges associated with mobile banking applications. 

1. Banking Trojans and Malware

Most mobile devices are not as secure as computers and laptops. In fact, there’s a chance that malware may infiltrate your device through an app. This is particularly dangerous when it comes to finance and banking mobile applications. In fact, just last year, over 100,000 new mobile banking Trojan strains were detected, affecting millions of users worldwide. 

Mobile banking apps need specific solutions that can protect not only the backend but also the end users. With Build38’s Mobile Banking solution you can prevent fraud and minimize revenue impact.  

2. Security Vulnerabilities

Despite significant efforts of the professionals, malicious adversaries find innovative ways to discover loopholes in applications and bypass the implemented security measures — resulting in consequences such as unauthorized access, data breach, data leak/theft and more. As far as financial applications are concerned, experts report that 77% of financial apps have at least one vulnerability that could result in a data breach. 

3. Fake Banking Apps

While mobile banking adoption is on the rise, so are mobile banking frauds. It’s hard to predict which apps are scam apps, but you can be sure that there will be a number of them floating around in cyberspace. An analysis by the Washington Post found that almost 2% of the 1,000 highest-grossing apps on the app store are scams — and alarmingly these scam applications generated over $48 million in revenue. 

 

It is crucial for businesses to actively identify and patch security vulnerabilities in their mobile applications to ensure the safety of their customers. Build38 offers continuous protection support to apps to secure their data, certificates, API keys etc. specially in mobile Banking Apps. 

Build38’s Trusted Application Kit (T.A.K) allows developers to protect API keys with its “File Protector” functionality even in the development phase. This allows developers to pass API keys in an encrypted way along with the app and to publish the app in app stores. Only during runtime then, the API keys will be decrypted (of course, the decryption key is well protected, too) on the fly for use in API calls. Additionally, any app using Build38’s security solution is protected by checks of the runtime environment, application self-protection measures, checks for the use of hacking frameworks etc.  

Protect your mobile App with Build38’s in App Protection Solution  

With more than 40% of all financial transactions now being completed through mobile apps, consumers are becoming more reliant on digital banking. Mobile banking adoption is rising as users all over the world continue to use mobile finance and banking apps for digital payments purposes. However, with the increase of digital banking via mobile applications, digital security threats are surging. 

As more customers become familiar with technology and shift towards digital banking, financial institutions are left facing questions about how to keep their customer data safe while remaining competitive in today’s mobile environment.  

Banks, businesses and other financial institutions must remain vigilant with regard to safeguarding customer data, protecting against fraudsters, and ensuring the overall safety of customers’ funds with technology that has fast integration such as Build38’s Mobile Banking Security Solution. While consumers must focus on gaining essential cybersecurity training and education in order to learn more about identifying and preventing emerging cybersecurity threats. 

Get in touch with Build38 to learn about its Mobile Banking Security Solution. 

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