Data breaches have risen 480% in financial services firms
The number of data breaches reported by UK financial services firms to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) increased 480% in 2018, to 145 up from just 25 in 2017*, shows research from RPC, the City-headquartered law firm.
Data breaches are on the rise. And, the financial services sector is an especially lucrative target; along with the personal data bulging healthcare sector.
In the financial services sector, the retail banking sector saw the largest percentage increase in the number of data breach reports, rising to 25 in 2018 from only one in 2017.
This should raise concerns about the number of cyber criminals targeting bank accounts. Tesco Bank, for example, was fined £16.4m by the FCA in October 2018 as a result of a cyber attack that led to £2.26m being taken from personal current accounts**.
On the other side, RPC has revealed that wholesale financial markets firms–such as investment banks–reported the most data breaches to the FCA in 2018: 34 compared to just three in 2017.
An easy target?
According to the research, cybercriminals could be targeting investment banks in a belief that their security systems are less sophisticated than retail banks.
And the stakes are, potentially, a lot higher: confidential data held by investment banks on areas such as M&A can be used for insider trading. In the US, for example, the SEC is pursuing a number of insider dealing cases that relate to cyber breaches.
Other sectors within financial services that saw large increases in data breach reports include:
• Insurers — 33 in 2018, up from seven in 2017
• Consumer retail lending — 21 in 2018, up from four in 2017
• Retail investments — 11 in 2018, up from none in 2017 (see below for full breakdown)
In the research RPC explains that ‘while the data suggests that financial services businesses are suffering an increasing number of cyber attacks, these businesses are also perhaps getting better at identifying and reporting those attacks.’ (Which is a good thing!)

Reports of data breaches by financial services companies.
GDPR: a positive impact
June 2018, the first month after the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), saw the highest monthly total of data breach reports, with 20 data breaches reported by financial services firms.
Richard Breavington, partner at RPC and head of their Cyber Insurance and Breach Response team, says: “Banks remain a top target for cybercriminals. The figures suggest that the banks are suffering data breaches on a frequent basis.”
“The increase in reports, however, does show that the financial services industry is now taking cyber security more seriously than ever. The financial and reputational fallout from a data breach can be serious for a business of any size. They must be ready to defend against — and respond to — breaches as efficiently as possible.”
Those reporting data breaches in financial services is on the rise.
source informationage
Industry: Cyber Security News

Latest Jobs
-
- Security Analyst. Financial Services. UK. Permanent
- Unknown
- N/A
-
CH7863 Security Analyst. End User . Financial Services Security Analyst needed to monitor and manage a security suite of tools within an End User environment. The Security Analyst will be responsible monitoring, configuring, fine tuning, incident management and generally improving the security tool capability. Specific experience with CyberArk, Tripwire Log Center and Tripwire Enterprise is highly desirable). Current experience with Vulnerability management and penetration testing is highly desirable. Specifically the ability to effectively manage 3rd party pen tests. You will be working within a specialist security team reporting to the CISO. Experience working within an end user environment within financial services is highly desirable. Flexible location. This is an exclusive role to DCL Search & Selection. To book a call please use my Calendy link https://calendly.com/chris-holt/arranged-call-with-chris-holt-soc-role-
-
- DevSecOps - Security design / review consultant. SC Clearance. London
- London
- N/A
-
CH7858 London £70,000 DevSecOps - Security design / review consultant. DevSecOps - Security design / review consultant will ensure that newly created, public facing apps are secure by design and by default by aligning them to current / best practice security policies and standards into the design phases. The individual must have a technical software / application development background with specalist experinece in secure architecture design. (Frameworks, processes, best practice etc) Practical experience translating and ensuring that the OWASP top 10, ISO27001, HMG frameworks requirements are reviewed and embedded into project designs which are implemented is essential. Experience working projects through a full development lifecycle is key. You will work along side the design and project teams to idenitfy and mitigate risks throughout the design phases. This is a permanent role. SC clearance is essential as is the ability to get to the London office. (When appropiate #covid) Security DevSecOps consultant. To arrange a discreet call book via https://calendly.com/chris-holt/devsecopp--security-design-review-consultant
-
- CONTRACTOR Cyber Vulnerability Analyst, NESSUS, Rapid 7, SC clearance required.
- London
- N/A
-
Cyber Vulnerability analyst NESSUS, Rapid 7, needed for IMMEDIATE 3 month contract MUST have / be able to achieve UK SC clearance role to work within a live environment within a public sector department. The individual must have experience in using various security methods and tools such as Rapid7 and NESSUS scan for / identify vulnerabilities, prioritise them according to risk and raise appropriate tickets for remediation / follow up. In depth experience utilising Nessus highly beneficial. Current cyber public sector experience highly desirable.
-
- Internal Security Auditor, Level 1 Service Provider (ISO27001)
- London
- Upto 55,000 plus benefits
-
Internal Security Auditor ISO 27001, PCI, needed to join a Cyber team within this expanding Fintech business. The Internal Security Auditor will have end to end responsibility for planning, delivering, remediating any findings etc. Experience working within financial services is highly desirable. This Is a great time to join a newly formed and growing Cyber team within a rapidly expanding fintech, that is taking a major share of its market. We are looking for someone with experience, (but not to be limited to) a mix of Information Security standards, frameworks, audit principles, controls / policies and the management and use of the technical tooling etc. ISO 22301, ISO 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework etc An ideal candidate will be working within an end user environment with a cyber consultancy background. Experience taking a company through accreditation is highly desirable Experience managing internal stakeholders, technical teams and external third parties essential Flexible working, but with the ability to get into London. This is an exclusive role to DCL Search & Selection.