Of all the industries affected by malware and cybercrime, financial centers should be the most cognizant of the danger posed by these increasing menaces. With the massive amount of sensitive personal and financial information stored in their databases, banks will continue to be targeted by both state-backed cyberspies and traditional hackers motivated by the pursuit of money. However, recent studies suggest banks have not invested as heavily as other industries in the sophisticated data security solutions needed to prevent cybercriminals from accessing these files.

According to an audit conducted by the Online Trust Alliance, banks lagged behind other organizations in regard to the implementation of consumer security protocols, CIO reported. Both social media sites and retailers outpaced financial institutions in their data security plans. Meanwhile, only a quarter of audited FDIC member banks made OTA's Honor Roll. Furthermore, of the banks that did not meet the qualifications needed to attain that distinction, 71 percent received failing grades in at least one data security category.

The failure to enact proper preventive measures is particularly alarming given the high incident rate of financial record breaches. A recent Ponemon Institute study found that the average cost of a single compromised record in the U.K. was approximately $134 in 2012, an increase of $11 over the previous year. Furthermore, cardholder data is commonly stored on enterprise servers without the benefit of robust encryption defenses.

In addition, many organizations have failed to provide sufficient oversight and monitoring practices for those sensitive files. According to an audit carried out by Ground Labs, one company was found to have more than 20 million credit card numbers in its possession that managers and business leaders were unaware of. To prevent cybercriminals from accessing this data, financial institutions should employ a comprehensive security plan to establish governance and data security best practices. Data encryption software should be a component of any robust plan of action, as these measures can prevent hackers from accessing sensitive information in the event that a file is compromised.