Cybersecurity Best Practices for Financial Organisations

Financial firms still lose client data through everyday actions - a misdirected email, a rushed click on a phishing link, or a control that never reached the board risk register.

These five practices help financial organisations strengthen cybersecurity without drowning teams in jargon.

Financial services organisations are 300 times more likely than others to be targeted by a cyber attack, according to industry reporting from 2019.

As firms digitise more client journeys, criminals have more routes into systems, inboxes, and impersonation scams.

Cybersecurity needs to be visible from board members to frontline staff, not treated as a technical side issue.

Below are five practical steps your organisation can take now.

Contents

• 1. Make Cybersecurity a Whole Business Concern
• 2. Invest in People and Training
• 3. Safeguard Everyday Activity
• 4. Educate Your Customers
• 5. Spread Risk With Multiple Lines of Defence
• 6. Prioritise Secure Communications

1. Make Cybersecurity a Whole Business Concern

In regulated financial services, cybersecurity has to sit inside operating processes across the business, including teams well outside IT.

Everyone who handles client data, approves payments, or speaks to customers has a role in reducing risk.

Leading firms are already integrating cybersecurity into their operations by:

• Forming technology committees that oversee cyber risk across the business.
• Expanding incident protocols to involve senior leaders beyond the technical team.
• Making cybersecurity a day-to-day concern for executive leadership.
• Monitoring threats and regulation alongside internal systems reporting.

Clear policies across all levels help build a framework where everyone contributes to defence.

When risk committees, incident playbooks, and communication controls align, firms are better placed to respond before a breach becomes a regulatory or reputational issue.

"If cyber risk only appears on an IT slide once a quarter, the firm is probably underestimating how often client data moves through email, portals, and third-party tools.

Boards need the same visibility on communication risk that they expect on financial and conduct risk."

Paul Holland, Founder and CEO, Beyond Encryption (Mailock)

That wider ownership makes it easier to spot gaps before they become client-facing incidents.

2. Invest in People and Training

Firewalls and monitoring tools matter, but people remain the most common breach route in day-to-day work.

The most advanced systems cannot prevent a breach if someone leaves a device unlocked or reuses credentials across tools.

Make your team part of your defence strategy:

• Train employees to identify threats and practise secure habits - password managers, two-factor authentication, and logging out of shared devices.
• Run rehearsals so teams know what to do during an incident.
• Enforce privileged access management policies that limit and monitor credentials.

Training works best when it uses real examples from your firm - wrong recipients, spoofed payment requests, or unsafe file sharing - not abstract policy language alone.

3. Safeguard Everyday Activity

The biggest threats often arise during routine operations such as sending statements, chasing KYC documents, or confirming bank details by email.

Phishing remains a top tactic - used in 46% of cyber attacks against the financial sector.

Fraudsters use fake messages to trick people into sharing information. With more remote work, reliance on email increases - and so does risk.

Where sensitive client data is sent by email, a platform such as Mailock can add AES-256 encryption, recipient authentication, and Message Tracker on top of your existing mailbox setup.

For adviser workflows, integration with Unipass Identity can reduce friction when verifying who is opening a message.

That combination can help firms:

• Protect internal teams, advisers, and clients on outbound sensitive email.
• Verify recipients before they access documents or reply.
• Keep consistent protection across business functions.
• Build audit trails that support reviews after access or delivery events.

Secure tools also signal to customers that you take their data seriously - provided the sending experience stays familiar.

Those checks catch many of the mistakes that turn into data incidents before they reach a client inbox.

"Most firms already encrypt data at rest.

The harder question is whether the right person opened a sensitive email, and whether you can evidence that afterwards."

Michael Wakefield, CTO, Beyond Encryption (Mailock)

Outbound controls are only part of the picture if customers cannot spot impersonation attempts.

4. Educate Your Customers

As a financial organisation, you have a duty to protect customers and help them recognise fraudulent contact.

Many attacks begin outside your systems - with fraudsters impersonating your brand.

In a 2022 industry report, financial services was among the most impersonated sectors, involved in 34% of phishing activity in Vade's sample.

Minimise the risk by helping customers spot the warning signs:

• Explain how scammers may impersonate your brand via email, phone, or post.
• Offer simple ways to verify whether a communication is legitimate.
• Share information policies so customers know how you behave and what to expect.

5. Spread Risk With Multiple Lines of Defence

No single tool will stop every attack. You need layers of defence.

Automation and human intelligence work best together:

• SIEM systems to monitor and report across your infrastructure.
• AI and ML fraud tools to spot patterns in suspicious behaviour.
• Automated resolution for basic incidents and threats.
• Specialist teams to handle complex escalations.

This joined-up approach improves coverage and reduces the impact of vulnerabilities.

For email-specific risk, see how secure email and secure email best practices fit alongside wider cyber programmes.

6. Prioritise Secure Communications

Protecting customers has always been a core responsibility. Email remains a primary route for both service and fraud.

Modern security should reduce risk and disruption where teams still rely on email for pensions, advice, insurance, and banking correspondence.

Mailock is a secure email platform for individuals, teams, and enterprises sending sensitive information at scale in financial services.

It uses AES-256 encryption and recipient authentication to help firms control access to sensitive messages and replies.

Mailock can help you:

• Reduce reliance on paper-based processes where digital delivery is appropriate.
• Build trust with clients through clearer, safer message access.
• Increase operational efficiency on high-volume outbound communications.
• Support compliance expectations with Message Tracker and broader audit trails.

If your firm sends sensitive client information by email, it is worth checking how your current setup handles authentication, secure replies, and delivery records.

FAQs

What Cybersecurity Risks Does This Article Focus On?

It focuses on everyday financial services risks such as phishing, misdirected email, weak controls, and limited visibility over sensitive client communications.

Why Should Cybersecurity Involve More Than the It Team?

Client data moves through sales, advice, operations, support, and senior decision-making. The article argues that boards, frontline staff, and technical teams all need clear roles in reducing cyber risk.

Where Can Secure Email Support Financial Organisations?

Secure email can support recipient authentication, AES-256 encryption, secure replies, Message Tracker, and audit trails where firms send sensitive client information by email.

References

Cyberattacks Hit Financial Services 300 Times More Than Other Sectors, CIO Dive, 2019

Phishing Remains Top Route to Initial Access, Cybersecurity Dive, 2024

Phishers' Favorites Top 25, Vade, 2022

Reviewed by

Sam Kendall, 30.05.26

This content is for general information only and is not legal advice.