Each cyber threat to online banking costs a bank nearly $1.75 mn: Kaspersky

Banks also need to ensure to provide customers with secured access to mobile & online services

An incident involving a bank's online banking services could cost the organisation $1,754,000 (about Rs 11.31 crore), a report by cyber security firm Kaspersky has found.

A study by the security firm showed that 61 per cent of cybersecurity incidents affecting online banking came with additional costs for the institution targeted - including data loss, the loss of brand/company reputation and confidential information becoming leaked among others.

Banking institutions are also worried about the growing menace of cyber attacks. The top concerns for financial services included attacks on digital/online banking services (45 per cent) and point-of-sale (POS) systems (40 per cent), phishing/social engineering of customers (35 per cent), along with attacks on core transactional/back-office systems (35 per cent) and on ATMs (26 per cent).

Apart from their own complex systems that need to be protected, there is also pressure on these financial institutions to provide customers with secured access to mobile and online banking services.

The actual cost of a cyber security incident to a financial institution can be as much as 926,000. While business customers of these institutions could see averages losses of $10,312, consumers who have fallen victim typically see losses of about $1,446.

"...Financial institutions (need) to consider the cost implications of cyber security threats and put appropriate measures in place to protect themselves and their customers from incidents involving online banking - particularly from DDoS (denial of service) attacks, which can threaten online banking services," it added.

Kirill Ilganaev, Head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection at Kaspersky Lab, said if a bank's online services come under attack, it is very difficult for customers to trust that bank with their money.

"...So it's easy to see why an attack could be so crippling. If banks are to protect themselves effectively from the price tag of an online banking cyber security incident, they first need to become more prepared for the dangers DDoS attacks pose to their online banking services," he added.