As innovation in financial technology rapidly increases, so too does the digital burden on companies. When customer data, transaction records, automation processes, and API connections come together, every system can become a weak link. Therefore, companies need to focus not only on growth but also on the unseen gaps in their infrastructure.
Security Overlooked in the Daily Workflow
A large portion of financial technology teams focus on increasing productivity. However, this focus can lead to security being lost amidst routine tasks.
For example, connection security remains a contentious issue in remote teams. Many companies leave basic security measures on employees’ devices to their own discretion. While adding a secure connection method to employees’ computers to protect device traffic in such environments should be a necessary component, this is often overlooked. In such cases, adding a secure tunnel to their devices by downloading a VPN has become a simple but effective habit, especially in departments that work with financial data.
Application-based risks are as high as network access in fintech companies. Inadequate isolation of code repositories, failure to keep test environments up-to-date, or excessive authorization among user roles create internal problems before external attacks.
Why Does Security Fall Behind While Modular Systems Grow?
In financial technology, systems often grow piecemeal. Products that initially begin as simple payment solutions gradually expand by adding fraud analysis layers, machine learning modules, API connections with financial institutions, and authentication services.
While this growth is natural, it also makes it difficult to control:
- Every new integration creates a new attack surface.
- Vulnerabilities in third-party services directly impact the product.
- As the number of teams increases, updating access policies becomes more difficult.
For this reason, many companies prioritize infrastructure scaling over security. However, the two areas should progress equally.
When Do Companies Aware of Vulnerabilities?
A problem usually occurs when a vulnerability has lain dormant for months, unexpected system behavior, a momentary erroneous transaction, or unusual activity in user accounts triggers serious warnings.
The reality is this: Security is often invisible. Economic pressures, deadlines, demands from financial institutions, and the pressure of product development push security to the “afterthought” stage.
Open-source standards like the National Cyber Incident Response Center’s guidelines or the OWASP documentation help teams create practical checklists. However, these resources alone are not sufficient; they require processes that align with company culture and daily workload.
Applicable Approaches for FinTech Teams
- Review the system architecture not only annually, but with every major feature release.
- Restrict access permissions as much as possible.
- Securing test environments to live data is essential.
- Ensuring basic connection and access security on developer devices.
- Making security a responsibility for all teams, not just the IT department.
Furthermore, leveraging the practical work conducted by universities with cybersecurity labs provides an up-to-date perspective, especially for fintech companies. Resources like the CISA training pages, where various institutions compile training materials, are examples of such resources.
Security Isn’t an Extra, It’s the Heart of the Operation
In finance, security is as crucial as speed. As transaction volumes, customer numbers, or product range increase, every small gap in infrastructure represents a growing risk. Security shouldn’t lag behind growth; it should progress alongside the fundamental components that drive it.
