Bankers believe that cybersecurity threats will present the greatest challenge to the financial industry in 2021, according to a recent survey of banking executives conducted by core technology provider CSI. More than 80% of bankers said they expect some form of social engineering—including phishing scams targeting customers or bank employees—to be the top cybersecurity threat this year.
The second largest cybersecurity concern was seen as ransomware, with 9% saying considering it to be a top threat. To improve cybersecurity, almost 85% of bankers said they plan to deploy employee, board and customer training and 47% said that they would be preforming social engineering exercises.
Other top concerns over the next year included meeting customer expectations, with 19% of surveyed bankers saying it is their top challenge, while 17% were most worried about regulatory change.
The report also examined bankers’ technology priorities for the coming year. Bankers said they would prioritize technology in 2021 that expands their geographic footprint and customer relationships such as digital account opening (59%), mobile banking apps (45%), and digital lending and customer relationship management tools (43%).
