Day 1: Introduction to Cybersecurity in the Financial Sector

Session 1: Cybersecurity Landscape in Financial Services

• Importance of cybersecurity in payment card industry
• Common threats and attack vectors in financial transactions
• Regulatory frameworks: PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO 27001
• Cybersecurity trends and emerging threats

Session 2: Payment Card Security & Compliance

• PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)overview
• Secure payment processing lifecycle
• Secure authentication mechanisms (3D Secure, EMV, OTP)
• Case studies on past breaches in payment industry

Hands-On Exercise:

• Case study on Analyzing past cybersecurity incidents affecting card payment companies

Day 2: Cyber Threats, Vulnerabilities & Attack Vectors

Session 1: Understanding Cyber Threats in Payment Systems

• Phishing, social engineering, and insider threats
• Card skimming, cloning, and point-of-sale (POS) attacks
• Malware, ransomware, and advanced persistent threats (APTs)

Session 2: Identifying and Mitigating Vulnerabilities

• Common vulnerabilities in payment gateways
• API security and third-party risks
• Mobile payment security risks (NFC, digital wallets)

Hands-On Exercise:

• Phishing attack awareness training
• Vulnerability assessment on a sample payment system

Day 3: Network & Endpoint Security for Financial Institutions

Session 1: Securing Network Infrastructure

• Network segmentation and Zero Trust architecture
• Firewalls, IDS/IPS, and VPNs for financial data security
• Secure remote access and cloud security best practices

Session 2: Endpoint & Application Security

• Secure coding practices for payment applications
• Threat detection on ATMs, POS terminals, and mobile apps
• Anti-malware, EDR, and endpoint hardening techniques

Hands-On Exercise:

• Configuring a firewall for secure payment traffic
• Identifying malware in a  endpoint attack

Day 4: Incident Response & Data Protection

Session 1: Cyber Incident Response in Payment Systems

• Steps in a Payment System Breach Response
• Incident detection, containment, and forensics
• Cyber resilience and business continuity planning

Session 2: Data Protection & Secure Transactions

• Encryption methods for securing transactions (TLS, AES, HSM)
• Tokenization and anonymization in financial services
• Compliance with PCI DSS, GDPR, and CCPA

Hands-On Exercise:

• Real-time case study data breach response
• Implementing encryption in a test environment

Day 5: Red Team vs. Blue Team & Best Practices

Session 1: Red Team (Attackers) vs. Blue Team (Defenders) Exercise

• Red Team: Simulating a cyber attack on a payment system
• Blue Team: Detecting and mitigating the attack
• Lessons learned and security improvements

Session 2: Cybersecurity Best Practices & Future Trends

• Secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC)
• AI and machine learning in fraud detection
• Emerging trends in blockchain, quantum security, and biometrics

Final Assessment & Certification

• Cybersecurity knowledge check
• Group discussion on cybersecurity strategies for VISA payment systems