Cybersecurity Challenges in Financial Sector : Experts Warn

The finance industry serves as a crucial backbone for countless Nigerians, sadly every day, hackers sharpen their tools while many banks and fintech firms are still patching outdated systems, treating cybersecurity like a technical side quest instead of the frontline battlefield that it is. And the cost? Millions lost, Trust shattered, Reputations ruined.

At a recent cybersecurity roundtable held in Yaba, Lagos, industry experts sounded the alarm over the increasing vulnerabilities in the financial sector, warning that cyberattacks are growing not just in frequency, but in sophistication.

Speaking at the event, Lawal Muyideen, Chief Information Security Officer at Fidelity Bank, echoed these concerns.

“The days of basic firewalls and antivirus software being enough are long gone. We now need multilayered defense strategies, AI-driven threat detection, and above all, staff education,” he explained.
Also speaking at the event was Ifeanyi Kingsley Kwentoa, A Cybersecurity analyst at Aglo Technologies Solutions Limited. said that the financial industry remains a “prime target” for malicious people.
“What we’re seeing now is an escalation, not just in the number of attacks, but in the complexity,” she noted. “These are no longer just lone hackers. We are dealing with well-funded, well-organized cybercrime syndicates that are constantly evolving.”

He also highlighted the human factor as a major weak point. According to Kwentoa,
“Most breaches still start with something as simple as a phishing email,”

“Until organizations train their employees to recognize these threats as it is constantly practiced at Aglo Technologies Solutions limited, even the best security systems can be compromised.”
To combat this growing threat, panelists recommended regulatory reforms, public-private partnerships, and cross-border intelligence sharing, especially as financial transactions increasingly transcend national boundaries
The Convener, Dr. Ibezim concluded the panel session warning that “Cybersecurity is no longer an IT issue. It is a business continuity issue, a regulatory issue, and in many ways, a national security issue.”
Banks, fintechs, and even small microfinance institutions must wake up and invest in continuous threat monitoring, staff training, ethical hacking, and robust incident response protocols. Regulations must evolve, yes, but responsibility doesn’t begin and end with compliance. It begins with leadership that understands: in a digital economy, your data is your currency and it must be guarded like gold.