MDR · 2 MIN READ · SARAH CRONE · MAY 29, 2025
TL;DR
- Identity is the new perimeter in cybersecurity, and adversaries targeting FinServ with real credentials they’ve stolen
- Part of this is due to the shift to remote work, so your employees and customers can access you anywhere—but that unfortunately works for attackers, too
- Expel MDR is designed to help you protect against bad actors attempting to look like the real deal, to keep your attack surfaces safe
In financial services, trust is everything. But the game has changed. The old “castle and moat” security isn’t enough because the main way into an environment isn’t through a smashed wall—it’s through the front door, using legitimate-looking keys. Identity is your new perimeter, and today, hackers aren’t just breaking in; they’re logging in.
Your customers and employees need to access services from anywhere. This digital convenience is great, but it means verifying who is who online is paramount. Cybercriminals are all over this, targeting credentials via phishing and social engineering to simply walk into your systems.
The alarming reality of “logging in” threats
The numbers paint a clear picture. Stolen credentials were used in a staggering 22% of breaches, according to the 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. For financial institutions, this can lead to account takeover (ATO) fraud. Veriff’s 2025 Identity Fraud Report shows ATO incidents jumped 13% in 2024, with global losses projected to hit $17 billion by 2025.
The impact isn’t just financial. If an attacker logs in using legitimate credentials, it erodes customer trust. Sift’s data reveals 80% of consumers would ditch a platform after an account takeover. This isn’t a risk you can afford.
Expel: Your partner in defending the digital doorway
This is where Expel Managed Detection and Response (MDR) can partner with financial organizations. We understand that you’re safeguarding financial futures and your institution’s integrity, and we do this for our financial services customers every day.
Expel integrates with more leading identity platforms than any other MDR provider to detect unauthorized access, credential misuse, and suspicious logins. By proactively identifying identity threats, we help financial institutions prevent account takeovers before they impact customers and reputation.
Here’s how Expel helps you stop attackers from just waltzing in:
- Eyes on the login, 24×7: Threats don’t sleep, so neither does our security operations center (SOC). We monitor for those subtle signs of credential misuse—an odd login time, a strange location, or unusual activity post-login—that often signal an external attacker using stolen credentials.
- Boosting your identity tools: We don’t replace your existing identity platforms; we make them stronger. Expel integrates with them to get the necessary signals, giving us the context to spot malicious logins quickly.
- Detecting deception: Attackers using valid credentials can be hard to spot. Our blend of AI and automation with human expertise hunts for these camouflaged threats. As our own data shows in our annual threat report, identity-based attacks (often stemming from compromised credentials via email) are the largest concern, making up 68% of incidents for Expel customers last year.
- Shutting the door, fast: When we spot a suspicious login or credential misuse, we don’t just flag it. We work with you to act swiftly, containing the threat and kicking the attacker out before they can do serious damage. We also provide you with root cause analysis and resilience recommendations to stop future attacks from occurring.
Secure your trust, secure your logins
The message is clear: in finance, if they can log in, they’re in. Protecting those login credentials and spotting when they’re misused by external forces is non-negotiable.
Expel’s MDR service is designed for this challenge, offering the expertise and 24×7 vigilance you need to protect your new identity perimeter. We help you ensure that the only people logging into your systems are the ones who should be.
Ready to talk about securing your digital doorways? Let’s connect.
