The traceable AI published a complete report highlighting the important concerns concerning the security of APIs within the financial services industry. The study questioned more than 150 cybersecurity professionals based in the United States, revealing many vulnerabilities and problems that are currently facing the sector in connection with API safety.
The report stresses that the growing use of APIs in the financial services sector has expanded the attack surface, which makes traditional security measures insufficient. While the APIs integrate more deeply into critical operations, their security challenges are increasingly obvious.
The report has revealed that regulatory pressures is an important engine of the API security priorities. A notable 82% of financial institutions have expressed an average level of high concern concerning compliance with federal financial regulations such as those mandated by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), the Currency Controller office (OCC) and the Consumer Protection Office (CFPB). In addition, 76% of respondents were concerned about PCI-DSS compliance in the context of their API security practices.
Another key conclusion indicated that 64% of respondents admitted a lack of visibility and context between API activities, user actions, data flow and code execution. This lack of integration makes it difficult for these institutions to detect and effectively respond to API -based threats.
The report also stresses that APIs commonly manage sensitive data within financial organizations. More specifically, APIs manage personally identifiable information (60%), account authentication data (60%), payment card details (56%) and device data (55%), making them very attractive targets for potential attackers.
The main API safety challenges identified by respondents include detection and prevention of unauthorized access to accounts (35%), sensitive data exfiltration (33%) and identification of API vulnerabilities (30%). In addition, 42% of those who have experienced a violation of API data attributed attacks on fraud, abuse and abuse, with only 15% expressing extreme confidence in their ability to prevent such problems.
The repercussions of API -related violations in the financial sector are important. The data loss and the brand’s reputation damage were both cited by 41%of respondents and the most important impacts, followed by financial loss (36%) and customer attrition (35%).
Richard Bird, Director of Security at Traceable, commented on the conclusions, declaring: “The conclusions of this report serve as verification of reality for our industry. Although financial organizations include the importance of API security, many are still struggling with basic challenges.” Bird, who is also a former director of information security (CISO) in the financial services sector, stressed the importance of attacking these current problems, saying: “As security managers, we cannot afford to be caught by growing threats of fraud and malicious bots who are constantly looking for means of exploiting API vulnerabilities.”. “”
The report calls on financial institutions to prioritize and implement more effective security measures. Bird concluded: “This report is a call for action for all of us to carefully examine what we do now and work together to secure our API ecosystems.”