Why Financial Services Need DevSecOps More Than Ever

This is not your father’s banking sector. Digital transformation has revolutionized the financial industry, introducing new technologies to streamline systems and transactions. And who among us isn’t thankful? Every time I deposit a check with my mobile, check balances on my desktop, or pay a friend with Venmo, I marvel at how far and how fast we’ve come. FinServ organizations have created the mobile apps and SDKs that enable these transactions with increasing speed and alacrity. At the same time, however, each of these apps and SDKs represent an expanding attack surface. Threat actors can – and do – poke, prod, and test the resilience of each and every app. Worse, the apps themselves live outside of the firewall, leaving cyber security teams precious little resources to protect them, monitor them, and react to attacks on them. To protect sensitive financial data and retain customer trust, financial organizations need to adopt a DevSecOps approach. In this blog post, we’ll explore why financial services need DevSecOps more than ever and how Digital.ai helps the industry balance speed, security, and compliance.

The Financial Services Industry is a Prime Target for Cyber Attacks

Our data suggests that financial services apps experience the highest number of cyberattacks — tied with the gaming sector for frequency and sophistication of attacks. In fact, in a February 2023 study, we found that 62% of FinServ apps experienced at least one attack over a four-week period. Therefore, securing sensitive data from cyber-attacks is a top priority for businesses operating in the financial services industry.

Security is a Top Priority for the Financial Services Industry

When breaches occur within financial institutions, they lose customers, funds, and time. As if that weren’t enough, they are also hit with regulatory fines. For these reasons, building a secure and compliant system is non-negotiable. Financial Services institutions collectively spend billions of USD on systems that monitor their data centers and networks. The amount they spend on securing the apps that live outside of their data centers and networks or “in the wild” – an amount that was nearly nonexistent before FinServ underwent Digital Transformation – is increasing commensurate with the number of apps and services that are offered in the wild.

DevOps is Not Enough; the Financial Services Industry Needs DevSecOps

DevOps methodologies have revolutionized software development processes, making it possible to deliver software rapidly and efficiently. However, given the fact that every app created through DevOps processes increases an org’s attack surface, DevOps alone not only does not provide adequate security measures – paradoxically, the efficiencies DevOps introduces can actually exacerbate security risks. DevSecOps meets these challenges head-on by embedding security into the DevOps pipeline and the IT infrastructure. Unlike traditional security approaches that rely on perimeter defense, DevSecOps shifts the focus from reactive security to proactive security. By integrating security into processes, FinServ organizations can build security into the apps themselves.

Digital.ai Equips the Financial Services Industry to Balance Speed, Security, and Compliance

Digital.ai provides a unified platform that brings DevSecOps under one roof. The platform is designed to streamline development processes and provide security and compliance through built-in features. Digital.ai provides vulnerability scanning, risk management assessment, and automated compliance checks throughout the software development life cycle. Moreover, the platform automates the approval process, ensuring that only approved builds are deployed into production. The platform also provides real-time reporting and analytics, giving transparency across the development process.

The financial services industry adopts DevSecOps processes to balance speed, security, and compliance. Digital.ai provides a comprehensive solution for developing and deploying secure and compliant financial apps on time and on budget. With Digital.ai DevSecOps solutions, financial organizations can improve their security posture, meet regulatory requirements and focus on delivering innovative financial products. Adopting DevSecOps with Digital.ai equips the financial services industry with the ability to manage risk and drive business success.

Learn more at Financial Software Development and Delivery