The financial industry is under attack. Cyber attackers continue to up the game by preying on individuals, small businesses and financial institutions, hoping to gain a more substantial payoff for their crime. One of the most comprehensive security breach studies, The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, reveals that worldwide fraud motives are most commonly financial (76%), followed by only espionage (21%), with the remaining 6% being FIG (fun, ideology and grudge).

This shift toward attackers reaching for a more significant payoff is evident; look at the numbers. The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report shared that new ransomware attacks tripled in 2016, as the average value demanded spiked from $294 to $1,077. And, Juniper Research reported that data breaches are estimated to reach a cost of $6.1 trillion dollars by 2021, only three years from now.

Expenses aside, institutions risk their reputation and face regulatory scrutiny if they do not take the proper precautions. However, with a problem as large as cyber fraud, it's difficult to know where to start. For instance, hacking and malware attacks account for the most breaches, but social engineering attacks are rising to an almost equal threat. Of the hacking vectors reported for 2016, 51% were malware, while 43% were socially engineered, like phishing and pretext calling. The most comprehensive cybersecurity program in the world isn't going to eliminate the risk of an attack or compromised data.