Cybersecurity in financial services has become a strategic imperative. Banks, investment firms, credit unions, and fintech platforms are frequent targets due to the sensitive financial data they handle — ranging from high-value transactions and customer account details to proprietary algorithms and internal reporting systems. 

Profit drives most attackers who target financial institutions. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a breach in the financial sector reached $6.08 million, placing it among the most expensive industries after healthcare. The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report identifies financial gain as the leading motive behind breaches in this sector, with threat actors frequently leveraging tactics such as ransomware, phishing, and business email compromise to maximize return on investment.  

CFOs now sit at the intersection of enterprise value, regulatory oversight, and cyber risk. With financial reporting and risk management increasingly tied to IT and compliance, CFOs must view cyber threats as material risks that impact liquidity, investor confidence, and strategic decisions.

Expanding Attack Surface 

Modern cyber threats in the financial sector have evolved beyond traditional tactics, now encompassing sophisticated methods such as:? 

• Compromised Accounting Systems: Attackers manipulate financial records by exploiting vulnerabilities in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, leading to falsified journal entries and unauthorized transactions.? 

• Targeted Payroll Fraud: Through social engineering or insider collusion, cybercriminals initiate unauthorized payroll transactions, resulting in financial losses and regulatory repercussions.? 

• Fraudulent Vendor Invoices: Counterfeit invoices are introduced into payment workflows, diverting funds to unauthorized accounts through tampered approval processes. 

• Misconfigured Cloud-Based Treasury Platforms: Improperly configured cloud environments can expose sensitive financial data and grant unauthorized access to funds and reports.? 

• Unsecured Financial SaaS Applications: Lack of robust API governance and audit controls in Software as a Service (SaaS) application can lead to data breaches and unauthorized data manipulation.? 

The integration of AI in financial operations introduces additional complexities. According to a 2024 Gartner survey, AI-related risks have seen significant increases in audit coverage, reflecting growing concerns over AI’s impact on data integrity and the potential for unreliable outputs. Furthermore, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has assessed that the rapid adoption of AI may amplify vulnerabilities in the financial sector, including cyber risks and model risks, potentially elevating systemic risk.  

These developments highlight the importance of stronger collaboration between finance, accounting, and cybersecurity teams within financial institutions. Such Interdisciplinary efforts are vital to address growing cyber and AI-related risks.

Financial Implications Extend Beyond Immediate Losses 

A cybersecurity incident rarely ends with the initial compromise. In many cases, the financial, operational, and reputational damage continues to unfold well after the breach has been contained. The lasting impact can affect multiple layers of the business:  

• Regulatory Penalties: Violations of SOX, GLBA, PCI DSS, and the SEC’s updated 2024 cybersecurity disclosure rules can result in significant fines and forced corrective actions. 

• Reputational Harm: Loss of trust affects institutional investors, retail clients, and strategic partners, especially for publicly traded firms. 

• Operational Disruption: Downtime in payment systems, liquidity management, or settlement platforms can stall critical processes and ripple across markets. 

New regulations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission require public companies to disclose any cybersecurity incident deemed “material” within four business days of determining its significance. CFOs must ensure that incident impact assessments are integrated into board reporting and financial disclosures, elevating the role of cybersecurity in corporate governance. 

Similarly, compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) is becoming increasingly relevant, particularly for government-affiliated financial entities. Although traditionally under the purview of CISOs, CFOs are now expected to align fiscal reporting with cybersecurity performance, as audits increasingly include metrics related to cyber maturity and data protection. 

Consequently, financial cybersecurity has become an integral part of enterprise stewardship. CFOs must assess cyber risk in financial terms, allocate budgets for effective controls, and lead collaboration across IT, compliance, and legal teams to secure digital and financial assets.

Threat Vectors That Demand CFO Oversight 

As responsibilities expand, CFOs must stay informed about the most critical threats impacting financial infrastructure: 

• Supply Chain Attacks 
  Threat actors exploit vulnerabilities in third-party software or service providers to infiltrate core systems. Financial organizations with extensive vendor ecosystems and SaaS dependencies are particularly at risk. 

• Business Email Compromise (BEC) 
  Through credential theft or impersonation, attackers initiate unauthorized fund transfers by mimicking internal communications. These schemes often bypass MFA through session hijacking and can lead to multi-million-dollar losses. 

• Ransomware 
  Attackers encrypt mission-critical data and demand payment for decryption. For financial services, such disruptions can jeopardize client trust and regulatory obligations tied to availability and service continuity. 

• Insider Threats 
  Employees or contractors with privileged access may misuse their credentials to exfiltrate data or manipulate records. These incidents are often more difficult to detect and mitigate than external breaches. 

• Regulatory Non-Compliance 
  Failing to maintain controls required by frameworks such as GLBA, SOX, or PCI DSS introduces legal and financial liabilities. It also exposes systemic weaknesses that can be exploited in future attacks. 

• Cryptomining Malware 
  Adversaries deploy hidden cryptominers to siphon computational resources. These stealthy attacks degrade system performance, increase energy costs, and create exposure to additional threats. 

Quantifying the Business Impact 

Cyber incidents have evolved well beyond the realm of IT. They now represent significant financial and strategic risks that organizations must quantify and manage with the same rigor as any other enterprise exposure. The effects are far-reaching and often compound over time.  

• Direct Financial Losses 
  Whether through wire fraud or ransom payments, the immediate costs can reach millions. 

• Legal and Regulatory Penalties 
  Non-compliance results in investigations, lawsuits, and severe penalties from governing bodies. 

• Reputational Damage 
  Loss of customer trust leads to client churn and market devaluation. Even the perception of inadequate cybersecurity affects shareholder confidence. 

• Operational Disruption 
  Extended downtime impacts liquidity, delays settlements, and disrupts internal processes. 

Defensive Priorities for CFOs 

While security may not traditionally sit in the finance domain, CFOs are increasingly expected to quantify risk and fund initiatives that prevent breaches. Here are strategic focus areas: 

• Conduct Regular Security Audits 
  Security teams should routinely assess financial systems like ERP, payment, and accounting platforms to uncover misconfigurations, outdated software, and third-party vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

• Mandate Employee Training 
  Ongoing training and phishing simulations help finance staff recognize and respond to threats such as invoice fraud and BEC, reducing human error as an entry point. 

• Implement Multifactor Authentication (MFA) 
  Enforce MFA across all finance systems to add a critical layer of protection. Even if credentials are stolen, MFA blocks most unauthorized access attempts. 

• Maintain a Proven Incident Response Plan 
  An established, regularly tested plan ensures rapid response to breaches involving financial data or transactions, minimizing downtime and financial loss. 

• Collaborate with Cybersecurity Experts 
  Partner with internal or external security professionals to monitor threats, close gaps in finance systems, and ensure compliance with industry regulations.  

SecPod’s Role in Enhancing Financial Cybersecurity 

SecPod is a cybersecurity technology company that specializes in proactive risk management. Its flagship offering, the Saner Platform, takes a prevention-first approach, eliminating security threats before they can cause financial or reputational harm. Unlike reactive, siloed tools, SecPod delivers unified, comprehensive security across endpoints, servers, and cloud environments. 

The Saner Platform is designed to give security and IT teams a unified approach to managing cyber hygiene. Rather than relying on fragmented tools, financial organizations can use the Saner Platform to continuously detect, assess, and fix risks. The platform includes the following solution modules:  

• Saner CVEM (Continuous Vulnerability and Exposure Management): A comprehensive module focused on endpoint and infrastructure security. It continuously scans IT assets to detect vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and security policy violations, and enables rapid, automated remediation across all systems.  

• Saner Cloud: A cloud-native application protection module designed to secure multicloud environments. It provides real-time monitoring of cloud misconfigurations, enforces least-privilege access policies, and maintains continuous compliance across platforms such as AWS and Azure. 

Together, these tools offer continuous visibility, automated remediation, and compliance-ready reporting — all essential for financial organizations that need to manage risk proactively and meet strict regulatory standards such as PCI DSS, GLBA, and SOX. 

Explore how SecPod can support your security goals 

Financial cybersecurity demands precision, speed, and continuous oversight. SecPod’s Saner Platform delivers on all three fronts, helping institutions secure their digital assets while staying aligned with industry standards. 

Reach out to us or schedule a custom demo to see the Saner Platform in action.