Shadow AI, deepfakes, and supply chain compromise are rewriting the financial sector threat playbook

In 2025 financial institutions experienced primarily financially motivated incidents—about 64% data breaches and 36% ransomware—driven by adaptive malware, AI-accelerated reconnaissance and social engineering, and systemic third-party/supply-chain exposures; the sector saw high financial impact (average breach cost $5.56M), notable large-scale thefts (e.g., a $1.5B exchange theft), and increased use of data exfiltration, deepfakes, and fraud-as-a-service.