Cybersecurity Best Practices in a Rapidly Evolving Threat Environment
Security and Resilience in the Age of AI
The cybersecurity landscape is evolving rapidly as bad actors increasingly use artificial intelligence to identify, automate, and exploit technology vulnerabilities at greater speed and scale. As a result, organizations should take steps to continually strengthen defenses, modernize technology environments, and reduce opportunities for exploitation.
At Fiserv, protecting client data, maintaining platform resilience, and supporting the stability of the financial ecosystem are top priorities. We continuously invest in cybersecurity, technology modernization, threat intelligence, and resilience programs designed to strengthen our defenses and help clients operate securely.
Essential Cybersecurity Best Practices
While every organization's environment is unique, several foundational practices can significantly reduce risk and improve resilience.
Maintain Current, Supported Technology
One of the most effective ways to reduce cybersecurity risk is to keep software, operating systems, and infrastructure on current, vendor-supported versions. Unsupported or end-of-life technologies can contain vulnerabilities that may no longer receive security updates, increasing exposure to emerging threats.
Prioritize Timely Updates and Patching
The time between vulnerability disclosure and active exploitation continues to shrink. Organizations should establish processes to evaluate, test, and deploy security patches and software updates as quickly as possible. Shortening update cycles can help reduce exposure to newly discovered vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Implement Strong Vulnerability Management
Effective vulnerability management requires:
- Maintaining visibility into assets and software components
- Quickly identifying systems affected by new vulnerabilities
- Prioritizing remediation based on severity and business risk
- Deploying compensating controls when immediate remediation is not feasible
Application-layer protections, network filtering, and other defensive measures can help reduce risk while permanent fixes are being implemented.
Strengthen Identity and Access Controls
Identity remains a primary target for cyber attackers. Organizations should consider:
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for remote and privileged access
- Time-bound administrative access
- Principle-of-least-privilege access models
- Network and environment segmentation
These controls can help limit the impact of a compromised credential or endpoint and reduce opportunities for lateral movement within an environment.
Maintain Complete Asset Visibility
A comprehensive inventory of hardware, software, cloud services, third-party components, and technology dependencies is critical to effective cybersecurity. Accurate asset inventories enable organizations to assess exposure more quickly and respond more effectively when new vulnerabilities are identified.
Regularly Test Recovery and Response Capabilities
Cyber resilience is not just about prevention—it is also about recovery. Organizations should routinely test:
- Backup and restoration procedures
- Disaster recovery plans
- Business continuity processes
- Incident response playbooks
Full restoration exercises and realistic cyber incident scenarios, including ransomware simulations, help teams validate readiness and improve recovery outcomes.
Take an Ecosystem-Wide Approach to Security
Today's financial and technology environments are highly interconnected. Weaknesses in one environment can create broader operational and cybersecurity risks across the ecosystem. Maintaining strong security controls, patching disciplines, access management standards, and recovery readiness throughout the technology supply chain helps strengthen resilience for everyone.
Fiserv's Commitment to Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity considerations are embedded across the Fiserv technology organization’s governance, operations, and risk management processes. We continually invest in modernizing infrastructure, enhancing security controls, strengthening resilience capabilities, and adopting recognized cybersecurity industry practices to address evolving threats.
Our approach includes:
- Ongoing investment in cybersecurity and technology modernization
- Continuous monitoring and proactive risk management
- Security-focused software development and deployment practices
- Collaboration with industry partners and security initiatives
- Resilience testing and operational preparedness
- Continuous enhancement of defensive capabilities to address emerging AI-enabled threats
As the threat landscape continues to evolve, Fiserv remains committed to helping clients operate securely through defined cybersecurity practices, reliable technology platforms, and ongoing innovation.