Who Touches Money?
In every business, there are people who manage, move, and authorize the flow of funds. These individuals aren’t just important to your operations—they’re prime targets for cybercriminals.
If someone touches money, they touch risk. And your job is to protect them—and your business.
Why Financial Roles Are High-Risk Targets
Cyberattacks don’t happen at random. They’re engineered. And threat actors know exactly where to aim:
- Accounts payable
- Payroll
- Finance managers
- Executives with wire transfer approval
- Anyone with access to banking platforms or sensitive customer data
These team members are targeted with phishing emails, business email compromise (BEC) scams, and social engineering attacks designed to trick them into wiring funds, revealing credentials, or paying fake invoices.
Real-World Example
A CFO receives an urgent email from the CEO—asking for a wire transfer to close a deal. The email looks legitimate. The language sounds right. The pressure is high.
The problem? It wasn’t the CEO. It was a cybercriminal who had studied the organization and spoofed the email address.
One click. One transfer. One mistake. Tens of thousands lost.
Questions Every Business Should Ask
- Who in your organization can authorize payments?
- Who can initiate a wire transfer?
- Who reconciles bank statements?
- Who can change vendor or payroll information?
Now ask this:
- Are those people trained to spot phishing and social engineering attacks?
- Is multi-factor authentication enabled on every financial system?
- Are approval processes clearly defined—and hard to bypass?
How to Protect the People Who Touch Money
- Mandatory Cybersecurity Training
Especially for finance teams. Make sure they can recognize fake emails, spoofed domains, and suspicious requests. - Segregation of Duties
No single person should have end-to-end control of financial transactions. - Verification Procedures
Require verbal confirmation or dual sign-off for any significant financial action. - Email Authentication & Filtering
Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to reduce spoofing. Set up filters for flagged keywords like “urgent,” “wire,” or “invoice.” - Audit Trails & Alerts
Implement activity monitoring and alerts for changes to vendor accounts or unusual transfer behavior.
Final Thought
If you’re not securing the people who touch your money, you’re not securing your business. Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue—it’s a finance issue, a leadership issue, and a trust issue.
So ask yourself: Who touches money in your company?
Now—what are you doing to protect them?