This article is part two of the series Finance in Transition, where we explore how AI, cybersecurity, and cloud technology are shaping the financial ecosystem of the future.
New Trends: AI-Driven Manipulation and Human Deception
AI-generated crimes are growing rapidly. Cybercriminals now use generative AI to create voices, images, and texts that are almost indistinguishable from real colleagues or customers. Deepfakes and cloned voices are being deployed to trick employees into approving transactions, sharing sensitive information, or bypassing internal security protocols. The most sophisticated attacks are hyper-personalized and extremely difficult to detect, even for trained professionals.
Global cybersecurity reports confirm that AI-supported social engineering has become the dominant threat. Phishing emails are now tailor-made by AI to mimic internal communication, while insider threats are increasing as work becomes more digital and decentralized. To keep pace, financial institutions must continuously update detection systems to recognize AI-generated manipulation and emerging ways of evading technical safeguards.
The Human Element: Weakness and Strength
Research shows that eight out of ten financial breaches stem from human error, stress, or misplaced sense of duty — and that hybrid work models have significantly expanded the attack surface. Yet the human factor is also proving to be the strongest defense.
Modern banks are investing in gamified training and realistic simulations where employees practice identifying manipulation attempts and responding under pressure. Through interactive exercises, staff gain the confidence and intuition needed to act decisively when threats appear.
Leadership and culture play a critical role. Banks that engage all employees and embed security awareness across the organization report significantly lower incident rates and stronger digital resilience.
The NIS2 Directive and What Comes Next
The EU’s new NIS2 directive introduces far stricter requirements for risk management, incident reporting, and security culture within critical sectors such as finance. Reports from Bankgirot and Secify highlight that many banks see NIS2 as a turning point — a shift that elevates cybersecurity from a technical issue to a strategic business priority.
Implementation still varies widely across institutions. Those furthest ahead have made training, simulations, and scenario-based testing a core part of their ongoing development programs.
The Future of Cybersecurity: Collaboration and Digital Resilience
Tomorrow’s cybersecurity demands a multifactor approach where technology, people, and leadership work hand in hand. Automated AI tools can detect anomalies, but it is human judgment that prevents most breaches.
A key success factor is building a culture of openness around incident reporting and information sharing — without blame or fear. When employees feel safe and accountable, they act faster, which can be crucial in containing an attack.
Cybersecurity has become a business-critical issue. Protecting customer trust and organizational value is now as much about relationships as it is about data. True digital resilience begins with aware, empowered, and courageous people.
Checklist: Building Digital Resilience in Practice
- Train regularly. Introduce ongoing exercises and simulated attacks to help employees recognize manipulation before it’s too late.
- Make security culture inclusive. Treat cybersecurity as a natural part of daily work — not just an IT concern.
- Strengthen technology, but trust people. Automated AI tools are essential, but human judgment still prevents most breaches.
- Foster confidence in reporting. Encourage quick reporting of incidents without blame or fear.
- Connect security to business. View cybersecurity as a strategic matter of trust, brand, and customer relationships — not just risk management.
ChatGPT sade:
Read the next article in the series: Platformisation and Digital Resilience – Business Strategy on Cloud Terms
