The Digital Threat Report for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector is a comprehensive analysis of current and emerging cyber threats and defense strategies. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Computer Security Incident Response Team in Finance (CSIRT-Fin) and SISA, a global Cybersecurity company collaborated to launch the report. The first report was released during 2024. Digital Threat Report 2025 for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) The second edition of the Digital Threat Report 2025–26 for the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) and payments ecosystem provides financial institutions, regulators and cybersecurity leaders with an executive assessment of the threats reshaping banking, financial services, insurance and digital payments. The Digital Threat Report 2025-26 examines how the threat landscape evolved through 2025-26 and what that signals for the years ahead. A central finding of this year’s report is that six of the seven forward-looking predictions made in the previous edition have already reached full-scale realization. This is not merely a validation of forecasting accuracy. It is evidence of acceleration. Adversaries are innovating faster, scaling faster, and exploiting trust faster than many institutional control environments were designed to withstand. Based on observed casework, market developments, and broader threat intelligence patterns, the report identifies three structural shifts now reshaping cyber threats across the payments ecosystem: AI & Human Deception where deepfakes, adversarial AI, and machine-scale impersonation are eroding trust in human judgment. Software & Systems where supply chain compromise, logic abuse, and AI-enabled attacks are weakening trust in how systems are built and behave. Infrastructure & Economy where cyber risk increasingly impacts financial continuity, critical infrastructure, and long-term cryptographic trust. The next phase of cyber threats is expected to center on attacks against trust, customer identity, transaction integrity, intelligent decision systems, partner ecosystems, and the autonomous technologies institutions are rapidly adopting. As a result, many future compromises may not resemble traditional breaches at all, but rather legitimate activity manipulated for malicious outcomes. In essence the report aims to: Provide an executive-level assessment of how cyber threats are evolving across the global BFSI and payments landscape Explain why traditional threat maturity models are breaking down and why speed of realization now matters as much as sophistication Translate fragmented threat activity from observed casework into structural themes leaders can act upon Help boards, CISOs, leaders, technology teams, and regulators understand where trust is now most vulnerable Identify the threat trends most likely to influence security investment and operating models through 2026 and beyond Offer a practical 18-month roadmap along three horizons mapped against the six BFSI Operating Layers To read the full report, click here. Digital Threat Report 2024 for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) Aim of the report Offer insights into the methods, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) employed by threat actors, including how they exploit vulnerabilities, use AI to enhance their attacks, and target organizations through novel means. Predict potential future breaches based on current trends, dark web chatter, and the evolution of attack techniques, enabling organizations to proactively prepare for emerging threats. Explore how AI and machine learning are being utilized by attackers to develop sophisticated malware, automate attacks, create convincing deepfakes, and lower the barriers for cybercriminal activities. Provide actionable recommendations and key controls that organizations can implement across the pillars of people, process, and technology. These preventive and detective measures are designed to fortify defenses, mitigate risks, and enhance overall cybersecurity resilience against both current and emerging threats. Examine recent breaches, including those affecting organizations with robust security postures, to understand how and why these incidents occurred despite strong defenses. Key cybersecurity breaches and attack vectors Core Banking Systems Ransomware & Data Encryption - Disruption of core banking operations by encrypting databases. Insider Fraud - Unauthorized manipulation of dormant accounts and transaction records. Supply Chain Attacks - Malicious code injected via thirdparty core banking software providers. Payment Processing Systems API Exploitation - Weakness in wallet APIs allows unauthorized payments. MITM (Man-in-the-Middle) Attacks - Transaction data is altered during processing. Digital Financial Services Apps App Vulnerabilities - Exploiting mobile app - vulnerabilities (XSS, SQL injection) to compromise accounts. Credential Theft - Phishing and Al-powered scams to steal user login information. Session Hijacking - Attackers bypass MFA by hijacking active sessions. Cloud & Infra Management Cloud Misconfigurations - Public exposure of cloud storage and weak IAM settings. Privilege Escalation - Gaining admin rights through API vulnerabilities. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) - Exploiting web applications hosted in the cloud. Vendor & Partner Integration Systems Supply Chain Attacks - Injecting malicious code into third-party banking software. Third-Party Breaches - Compromising vendor systems to gain access to bank networks. Device Security IoT & Connected Hardware Vulnerabilities - Fault injection techniques bypassed security on a Trezor hardware wallet, unlocking $2million in cryptocurrency. Anticipated cyber threats 2025 Rise of deep fakes & AI generated content Growing threat of supply chain attacks and malicious libraries IoT devices expanding attack surfaces Emerging threat of LLM prompt hacking Crypto - A new frontier for cyber threats Adversarial LLMs enchaning attack capabilities Quantum computing - A looming threat to cryptography Recommendations Building a Resilient People - Force: Strengthening Cybersecurity Through Training, Governance, and Remote Security Strengthening Cybersecurity Through Proactive Processes and Layered Defenses Technology: Building Resilient Cyber Defenses To read the full report, click here.