In financial services, trust is the product.
Banks, credit unions, fintechs, and investment firms hold the data that adversaries value most, and face regulatory scrutiny that intensifies after every incident. STS delivers PCI DSS compliance, SOC 2 readiness, security operations, and fraud prevention programs for financial institutions where a breach isn't just expensive, it's existential.
The reality facing financial services.
Financial services is the second most expensive sector for data breaches at $5.90 million per incident. But the real cost is trust, when a bank loses customer financial data, the reputational damage can drive account closures, regulatory intervention, and market cap erosion that dwarfs the direct breach costs. Regulators (OCC, FDIC, SEC, state banking authorities) have zero patience for institutions that can't demonstrate adequate cybersecurity.
What keeps financial services leaders up at night.
PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance
PCI DSS 4.0 introduced significant new requirements effective March 2025, including targeted risk analysis for each requirement, enhanced authentication, and stricter monitoring. Many institutions are scrambling to meet the new standards.
Regulatory Examination Pressure
OCC, FDIC, NCUA, and state regulators examine cybersecurity programs with increasing rigor. An unsatisfactory IT exam finding can trigger consent orders, restrict growth, and require board-level remediation commitments.
Financial Fraud & BEC
Business email compromise targeting wire transfers, ACH fraud, account takeover, and synthetic identity fraud, financial institutions face the full spectrum of fraud attacks, often simultaneously.
Third-Party / Fintech Risk
Core banking providers, payment processors, fintech partners, and cloud providers create a web of third-party risk. Regulators expect institutions to manage vendor cybersecurity as rigorously as their own.
Real-Time Availability Requirements
Banking systems can't go down for patching during business hours. ATM networks, online banking, and payment processing require 99.99% uptime, creating tension between security operations and availability requirements.
We understand financial services regulation because we work with institutions under examination. Our programs are built to satisfy examiners, OCC, FDIC, NCUA, not just meet the letter of PCI or SOC 2. When the regulator walks in, our clients are ready.
Solutions built for financial services.
PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance
Gap assessment against PCI DSS 4.0, remediation roadmap, SAQ support through Level 1 ROC preparation, and ongoing compliance monitoring. We don't just help you pass, we help you stay compliant between assessments.
SOC 2 Readiness
Type I and Type II readiness programs for fintechs and financial service providers. Policy development, control implementation, evidence collection, and auditor coordination. From readiness to report in a predictable timeline.
Financial Security Operations
24/7 monitoring tuned for financial services, understanding that a login anomaly at 3 AM on an ACH system has different urgency than the same anomaly on a marketing workstation. Financial-grade detection and response.
Fraud Prevention & Detection
BEC detection, wire transfer verification procedures, account takeover monitoring, and employee fraud awareness training. Layer technical controls with procedural safeguards that catch what technology misses.
Regulatory Examination Preparation
Mock IT examinations, evidence organization, policy gap remediation, and board reporting preparation. We help your institution present a security program that satisfies examiners, because we know what they're looking for.
Vendor Risk Management
Tiered vendor risk assessment, continuous monitoring of critical financial service providers, and regulatory-compliant vendor management documentation. Because the regulators hold you responsible for your vendors' security.
Framework-mapped. Audit-ready.
“A community bank with $500M in assets passed its OCC IT examination with zero findings after implementing our integrated compliance program, the first clean exam in the institution's history.”