Advancing Segmentation to Strengthen Security and Compliance in Financial Services

Financial services firms have long been favored targets for cybercriminals. From multinational banks and retail brokerages to fintech startups and credit unions, organizations across the sector store, process, and transmit highly sensitive financial and personal data. According to the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, the financial sector was the second-most attacked industry globally, accounting for 22.4% of all incidents, behind only manufacturing.

Ransomware remains the most common and costly type of attack, accounting for 36% of incidents in the financial services sector. Meanwhile, IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 20252 found that financial institutions face an average data breach cost of $5.56 million, significantly higher than the global average of $4.44 million.

Despite heavy investments in security, today’s financial institutions are grappling with increasing threats due to increasingly complex hybrid environments, legacy systems, distributed workforces, and growing third-party ecosystems. These factors all contribute to an expanding attack surface and reduce visibility into east-west traffic, making it easier for attackers to move laterally within networks once they gain access.

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