In this, the second of three blog posts, we continue to examine the issues discussed in our recent webinar, “Software and Application Security Challenges and Opportunities in Banking.” In the webinar, Rhys Arkins, Mend’s VP of Product Management, was joined by James McLeod, Director of Community of the Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS); Kate Stewart, VP of Dependable Embedded Systems at the Linux Foundation; and Amol Shukla, Executive Director of Engineering at Morgan Stanley, to

The banking and fintech industries live and die on the reliability of the online services they offer. It’s vital that the sensitive data that the industry handles is robustly protected, and that the software and applications that it uses are secure. For effective software and application security, it’s critical that banking and fintech organizations rapidly detect, identify, and remediate software vulnerabilities.

Much of an organization’s most critical business and employee data passes through the hands of finance and accounting professionals. It’s one of the main reasons cyberthreats present a significant risk to finance and accounting teams — especially for small accounting firms that are directly responsible for their security.

ABN AMRO, headquartered in Amsterdam, became the first bank in Europe to register a digital bond on the public blockchain, using Fireblocks. The digital bond was issued to a select group of investors to raise funds on behalf of APOC, an ABN AMRO commercial client in the aerospace industry. ABN AMRO’s bond issuance sets an innovative precedent in bringing more real world use cases of blockchain technology to traditional financial markets.

The customer experience at the world’s biggest banks and fintech firms is undergoing a significant change. Because of technological advancements, account users may now not only transfer money online but also log in using Identity Verification using face match technology and do a variety of operations using simply their smartphone and its front camera. Technology in this area has made things faster, easier, and safer during the last decade.

Digital transformation in banking began following the creation of the internet in the 1990s as a way for banks to deliver services to their customers more conveniently. Today, it has completely changed how most people interact with their banks. From opening a new account to making transactions and applying for loans, you can access all banking services directly from your computer or smartphone.

As both consumer and commercial banking clients shift to primarily utilize online banking, they still have high expectations that their financial assets will be secure. In 2021, the banking industry reported 703 cyberattack attempts per week — a 53% increase from 2020. And the cost of cyberattacks in the industry has reached $18.3 million annually per breach.

The banking and financial sector is known for its dependence on third-party vendors that help provide customers with quality financial products and services. It is one of the most interconnected sectors, making it one of the most vulnerable to cyberattacks. And because third parties operate through the banks they are contracted with, any losses are the bank's responsibility.