The convenience of mobile banking has transformed financial services, making banking apps more accessible and user-friendly. According to the Statista Research Department, more than 66% of the population in 2023 used online banking services, and this trend is expected to continue, with projections indicating that the penetration rate will surpass 79% by 2029.
As mobile banking continues to advance, so too do the sophisticated techniques employed by cybercriminals. The risks associated with mobile banking, particularly the unauthorized access to sensitive data, can have devastating consequences. Whether it is falling victim to account takeover or identity theft, the critical need for resilient cybersecurity measures are essential to protecting user’s financial data. I want to lay out a few risks financial services organizations should be aware of and what they can do to protect their mobile banking services and sensitive customer data from exploitation.
Mobile Banking Cyber Risks
According to recent data analyzing mobile threats and malware, financial services organizations saw 68% of its mobile threats attributed to sideloaded apps. Sideloading applications is the practice of installing mobile apps on a device that are not from the official iOS and Google stores. Sideloaded apps attract consumers by offering exclusive features, cost savings, unrestricted access, early updates, or enhanced customization often unavailable in official app stores, while leveraging clever marketing and bypassing restrictions. The danger with this is that third-party threats have the power to expose financial data and unleash vulnerabilities. Mobile users who engage in sideloading are 200% more likely to have malware running on their devices than those who do not.
Another risk around is banking malware focused on stealing credentials and one-time passwords (OTPs). Our Mobile Banking Heist research shows that the most popular malware families are already using techniques such as screen overlay, key logging, accessibility permission abuse, ATS etc. to carry out frictionless fraud.
Additional on-device fraud through tactics like device spoofing (emulator fraud) and SIM swapping are on the rise. There has been a sharp rise in Digital Account Opening fraud using mobile emulators due its ability to scale using synthetic identities.
Secure Mobile Banking Apps: Trust Based Model + Adaptive Security
Financial services organizations need to implement the comprehensive and adaptive mobile banking app cybersecurity strategies to minimize these threats. It is imperative to adopt proactive security measures, such as:
- Embrace solutions that provide real-time threat visibility. This will allow app teams to develop threat models specific to mobile banking use cases, including advanced persistent threats (APTs) and emerging attack vectors. This proactive approach strengthens the overall security posture.
- Utilize binary scanning, which to uncover insufficient security against malware, emulators and compromised devices.
- Embed device attestation capabilities into the mobile app. This ensures that only secure and safe devices can receive OTPs during login, which helps mitigate credential theft, account takeover and build a robust authentication process.
- Make encryption hardware-agnostic to ensure financial info is secure across all devices hardware configurations. By implementing whitebox encryption, they can safeguard cryptographic operations and protect keys, even on compromised devices.
- Adopt security that can be updated Over-The-Air (OTA) to facilitate the rapid deployment of security patches, securing apps without requiring manual updates from users. Ultimately, this approach minimizes the exposure surface and continuously safeguards data.
- Adopting ongoing education regarding mobile banking best practices. This includes downloading secure apps only from official app stores, staying informed about phishing trends, avoiding public Wi-Fi for transactions, and being aware of overall account activity.
Mobile threats will continue to advance and the severity of threats will demand organizations to prioritize mobile banking security. There is no turning back; mobile banking is here to stay. The simplicity for users is advantageous in comparison to traditional banking methods. However, the diversity of cybersecurity concerns associated with mobile banking, combined with the severity of these vulnerabilities, can cause irreparable harm. It becomes of utmost importance to remain vigilant in adapting their security measures to defend against mobile banking threats.
