By Tarun Wig, Co-founder & CEO, Innefu Labs A bank in India can be doing everything right on paper. I've sat across from CISOs at precisely that moment, and the initial query they invariably pose is rarely "how do we fix this." It's instead "how long has this been going on?"
This gap between when something goes wrong and when someone notices is where most of the damage in banking cyber incidents typically occurs. This mix includes dozens of fintech partners, payment aggregators, and API integrations that connect into the core banking system through channels designed for a different era.
Banks that can quickly identify these patterns are better prepared to address potential issues proactively by integrating systems that traditionally operate independently: core banking, fraud engines, identity and access management, and network monitoring. Legacy systems pose a challenge due to their inherent difficulty in replacing them easily, necessitating compensating controls such as strict segmentation, tightly monitored access, and treating old systems as high-risk zones that require closer attention rather than being overlooked because they are hard to touch. Those poised for the next five years are not necessarily those with the most tools; they're the ones who take early signals seriously, keep humans involved in critical decisions, and have already mapped out roles and processes before an incident occurs.
