Cybersecurity Policy Report, Report: EU Financial Sector Facing Heightened Threats, (Feb 24, 2025)
An analysis by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) sheds light on the cyber threat landscape of the European finance sector, which has faced significant cybersecurity challenges over the last year. ENISA analyzed 488 publicly reported incidents affecting the finance sector in Europe, and its report highlights threats and vulnerabilities across the sector.
ENISA found that European banks were the most frequently affected (46%), with 301 incidents observed. Public organizations followed (13%). Individuals were also affected (10%), being defrauded through social engineering campaigns with finance-relevant themes.
The sector also saw peaks in distributed denial-of-service activity linked to geopolitical events—Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in particular. So-called hacktivists targeted European credit institutions and governmental websites related to finance, causing operational disruptions, ENISA found.
Data breaches and leaks remained prominent issues, with threat actors targeting primarily credit institutions and exploiting vulnerabilities for financial gain through fraud, supply chain attacks, and social engineering; incidents led to financial losses, regulatory penalties, and reputational damages for these institutions, according to ENISA.
Social engineering campaigns, such as phishing, smishing, and vishing, were frequently used by cyber crime threat actors to steal sensitive information and commit financial fraud, affecting both individuals (38%) and credit institutions (36%), resulting in financial loss, large-scale financial crimes, and data exposure, ENISA said.
Fraud accounted for 6% of overall incidents, affecting individuals and credit institutions primarily. Underreporting and secondary consequences from other cyber incidents suggest a broader issue, as reported cases seem low. ENISA further found crypto-related cyber crime increased over the relevant time period.
Ransomware attacks primarily affected service providers (29%) and insurance organizations (17%), with impacts including financial loss (38%), data exposure (35%), and operational disruption (20%). Malware incidents (excluding ransomware) were fewer in number but often affected a large number of citizens, affecting credit institutions (36%) and individuals (24%) the most. Attacks on suppliers—data breaches and ransomware, most often—resulted in the exposure and sale of sensitive data (63%), operational disruption (26%), and financial loss (11%).
ENISA recommended that stakeholders in the finance sector invest strategically to improve cybersecurity resilience, including investing in supply chain management and incident response. Stakeholders should also strengthen regulatory compliance with frameworks, like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the Network and Information Security Directive, and the Digital Operational Resilience Act, and should implement comprehensive employee training programs and robust incident response plans.
ENISA emphasized the importance of rigorous third-party risk management practices and of fostering collaboration and information sharing within the sector. A multifaceted approach is necessary to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats and maintain long-term resilience, ENISA stressed.
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