The Perfect Storm – How Mobile Reliance Has Forced Financial Services Beyond Device Management

Tablets and smartphones have become a primary tool to manage work and life as digital transformation accelerated last year. This trend is especially evident in the finance sector, where both workers and customers have become dependent on mobile devices to do everything from shopping, playing bills and managing finances. Similarly, financial employees are using the very same devices to stay productive as they continue to work away from the office.

The increased usage of mobile devices in the financial sector means both organisations and customers are exposed to new risks. These devices now have as much access to corporate infrastructure as traditional endpoints and hold more sensitive financial information than ever. Therefore, it is no surprise that the financial sector was the most targeted industry in 2020 by cybercriminals. To ensure that they tap into the productivity that comes from mobility, financial organisations need to embrace modern security technologies and strategies to secure the mobile devices and apps their employees and customers use the most. 

The need for dedicated endpoint security solutions

In an attempt to secure their mobile devices, the financial industry increased their use of mobile device management (MDM) solutions by 50 percent during the pandemic. Despite these efforts, cyberattacks did not decrease during the same period. Phishing remained one of the most common forms of cyberattacks while malware exposure rose by over five times. These trends illustrate that financial services organisations need to think beyond MDM when it comes to securing their mobile devices and their corporate data. 

We’re more susceptible to phishing attacks

There’s a reason that we saw a 125 percent increase in the average quarterly mobile phishing exposure rate for financial organisations. With everyone working from home, or continuing to do so under a hybrid-work environment, security teams have lost the visibility they had inside their perimeter. It also doesn’t help that people are using personal mobile devices and using networks organisations don’t control. In addition, consumers are using mobile devices to access sensitive data…