Netskope released a report focusing on the financial sector, focusing on the risks of personal app use, generative AI, and social engineering.
The report found that personal app usage in the financial sector is a data security risk. 92% of workers in financial services use personal apps on a regular basis, and 13% of them upload sensitive data to the apps. Furthermore, 74% of data policy violations for personal app usage include uploads of regulated personal and financial information.
Key findings on personal app usage in the financial service sector include:
- There are controls in place in 83% of financial services organizations to prevent users from uploading information into personal apps.
- Data loss prevention (DLP) is used in 70% of financial services organizations to reduce personal app risk, outpacing the global average (66%).
- 40% of financial services organizations deploy real-time user coaching to mitigate personal app risk.
The report also discusses the risks of generative AI, as 95% of organizations in the financial services sector now utilize it. According to the findings, organizations use an average of 10 various generative AI apps, with an average of 6% of people regularly using these apps. The top 25% of financial services organizations 19 or more generative AI apps in 2025. 90% of organizations are currently blocking at least one generative AI app.
Social engineering scams are another prevalent threat in the financial services sector, and one of the most common tactics is convincing a target to download malware. Each month, 9.8 out of every 1,000 users in financial services organizations are lured into downloading malware.