Respondents to a new survey from Silicon Valley-based software company FICO unanimously agreed: Data breaches this year in other industries will damage financial institutions.
The study queried 36 fraud executives from 18 leading banks in the Asia-Pacific region to measure threats affecting financial institutions impacted by the increasingly connected business landscape.
With data being gathered and stored by numerous entities, 38 percent of respondents said large retailers were the greatest risk for a data breach in 2016, while 35 percent chose telecommunications companies.
On the other hand, small business (25 percent) and healthcare (22 percent) were selected as the industries least likely to be at risk. Hospitality and travel, as well as insurance, were seen as medium risks for data breaches for the year ahead.
| 38% of respondents ranked large retailers as being at the greatest risk for a data breach in 2016. Small business (25%) and healthcare (22%) were voted as the industries least likely to be at risk. 100% of respondents said data breaches in other industries will impact financial institutions. 72% of respondents see a significant rise in the volume of threats from mobile commerce. |
"Rapid internet and mobile penetration have seen many industries grow their online capabilities to include payments, online applications and account management services, yet many organizations only have basic security in place," said Raed Taji, head of global fraud consulting for FICO in Asia Pacific. "These businesses are soft targets compared to the banks because they lack the resources or historical security focus needed to protect critical systems and customer data."
The explosive growth of mobile-first consumers in the Asia-Pacific region is also perceived as a primary threat vector as the volume of mobile threats increases: 72 percent of respondents believed there will be a major increase in threats from mobile commerce and mobile-first consumers in 2016, while 22 percent expect a modest increase.
The fraud executives were also queried about factors that might challenge their organization's ability to stop a data breach. Nearly a quarter selected low security awareness among employees as the top factor, with a slightly lesser amount responding that a lack of budget was to blame. Meanwhile, the number-two issue for 40 percent was too many siloed operations.
"These results show that better processes, education and management are just as important as having the right technology to keep up with the ever-evolving cybersecurity and fraud landscape," Taji said.
