Cybersecurity in Financial Institutions: A Survey of Threat Detection, Risk Assessment, and Prevention Strategies

Abstract

The digital revolution that has occurred fast in the financial sector, especially the banking sector has broadened the cybersecurity threat significantly. Since financial institutions are becoming increasingly dependent on digital technologies, online banking, APIs, cloud services, and fintech solutions, these institutions become more vulnerable to cyber threats, such as data breaches, ransomware, identity theft, and fraud. This article gives a detailed overview of cybersecurity background, threat detection systems, and risk evaluation strategies specific to the financial services. It identifies customer, transaction systems, digital identities, and interbank networks as major digital assets at risk. The focus is made on the traditional and AI-based intrusion detection systems such as the supervised, unsupervised, and hybrid learning models to identify threats effectively. In addition, the paper examines how Zero Trust Architecture and third-party governance can be implemented to enhance the resilience of an organization. The paper establishes gaps in the prevailing standards of cloud security, legal responsibility as well as proactive measures to counter, through a systematic literature review. It emphasizes the need to embrace dynamic cybersecurity models and strategic risk management to guarantee the integrity of data, compliance with regulations, and confidence in financial systems. This article is useful to the researchers, policymakers, and practitioners who aim at protecting financial institutions in a more digitalized economy.