A ThreatMetrix Cybercrime report has revealed a major financial institution is likely to be hit by significant cyber-criminal activity.
Analysis by the ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network revealed more than 15 billion transactions in the past 12 months exposed a 40% increase in cyber-criminal activity targeting the financial sector.
A record 21 million fraud attacks and 45 million bot attacks were detected in the last three months of 2015.
The data showed the financial sector is facing the highest number of organised attacks and multi-channel threats.
ThreatMetrix analysts said a worst-case attack scenario could see a major bank or financial institution come to a standstill for days – leading to millions or even billions of pounds being lost.
Senior director of strategy and product marketing at ThreatMetrix, Vanita Pandey, said: “A trend in our latest report shows bot attacks as the biggest attack vector to financial businesses globally.
“Bots and other sophisticated attacks, such as malware, have determined strategies to mimic the behaviour of authentic customers to bypass traditional security defences. This has serious implications for businesses across industries and geographies, as bots are difficult to detect and can cost billions in losses.”