Kaspersky Lab: Most Financial Services Firms Exposed to Cyber Threats - MSP Mentor

MSP Mentor, By Dan Kobialka

Antivirus software provider Kaspersky Lab found the majority of financial services organizations were recently exposed to cyber threats.

A new survey from Kaspersky and marketing research company B2B International, titled "Global IT Security Risks 2014 -- Online Financial Fraud and Protection," revealed 93 percent of these organizations dealt with cyber threats between April 2013 and May 2014.

Other survey findings included:

• 82 Percent of IT professionals said they would consider leaving a financial institution that suffered a data breach.
• 74 percent said they choose a financial services organization based on its security reputation.
• 53 percent said they prefer to pay more for the best security solution for transaction protection.
• 34 percent said the protection of sensitive information is a top priority for their IT department.
• Roughly 27 percent said they are willing to suffer losses due to cyber crime because they believe the cost of protection will outweigh the cost of the losses.

"While it is encouraging that financial services organizations recognize the damage to their reputation that can result from a cyber attack, it is concerning that many firms have not taken the necessary steps to implement proper security," Ross Hogan, global head of Kaspersky's fraud prevention division, said in a prepared statement. "Based on these survey results, we expect to see more financial services organizations take the necessary steps to not only protect customer data and financial information, but to take the steps needed to ensure their important reputation remains intact." Read more.