Financial companies careless about IT threats

According to a joint survey conducted by B2B International and Kaspersky Lab, an overwhelming majority of respondents stated that a bank’s reputation for protecting against IT threats was an important factor when choosing a partner. However, less than 50% of financial companies regard loss of trust and reputation as one of the most severe consequences of an IT incident.

The survey results show that many customers are unhappy with the quality of protection provided by their financial partners. Only 53% of respondents believe that their financial partners are doing their best to protect customers’ financial information. At the same time, over the past year almost 41% of financial companies and 48% of e-commerce operationslost financial information due to cybercrime.

These cases can damage the relationship between financial organizations and their major customers, many of whom see information security as a critical factor. The survey found 74% of companies say that they choose a bank based on its cyber-security reputation and even more companies (82%) are willing to consider leaving a bank that suffers a data leak.

In contrast, only 47% of financial companies and 40% of companies working in the e-commerce sector named the loss of reputation and trust among the three most damaging consequences of IT security incidents. Yet the survey also shows that reliably protecting payments means financial institutions retain their loyal customers and increase their income. 53% of the companies in the survey said they were ready to pay more for reliable protection of their financial transactions. Notably, among small businesses that figure accounts for 43% while among big companies 64% are prepared to pay additional costs for their financial security.

"In a highly competitive market, financial companies should value every client. Reports of a data leak or customers’ uncertainty about the information security of a bank can disrupt that professional relationship. We advise financial institutions to take extra care of their partners, including installing specialized security solutions on computers and mobile devices", said Ross Hogan, Global Head of the Fraud Prevention Division at Kaspersky Lab.

Kaspersky Lab has developed the special Kaspersky Fraud Prevention platform for companies that specialize in financial services and e-commerce. The platform integrates specially designed applications to protect financial transactions on computers as well the Kaspersky Fraud Prevention Mobile SDK tool-kit that allows banks to create their own secure mobile applications for their customers.