Fintech & Payments

Industry Summary

Rapidly evolving ecosystem of PSPs, aggregators, embedded finance platforms, and neobanks
Heavy reliance on APIs, cloud-native architectures, and third-party integrations
Subject to PCI DSS, GDPR, PSD2, and data localization mandates
Threat actors include FIN groups (financially motivated crimeware), APTs (espionage of payment infrastructure), and insider or affiliate fraud rings
Common tactics: API credential theft, supply-chain compromise, account takeover, and infrastructure abuse in cloud payment environments

1. Protect Digital Wallet and Stored-Value Account Data

Problem
Wallet services and prepaid accounts store card, identity, and transaction data linked to millions of users; breaches enable large-scale fraud.

Data in Scope
PII, Financial (e.g., card token, user ID, wallet balance, transaction history, device ID)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Encrypt sensitive wallet and balance data at field level. Tokenize user identifiers and wallet IDs for backend use.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only wallet orchestration services and AML engines can decrypt data; CS and merchant systems use masked values.

Outcome / Impact
Prevents large-scale wallet data exposure and supports privacy compliance across jurisdictions.

Threat Type
Financial Data Theft — FIN actors (e.g., FIN6, FIN11) target wallet APIs via credential reuse and phishing. Tactics: cloud API exploitation, credential abuse, and automated exfiltration through transaction APIs.

2. Secure Payment Gateway and API Transactions

Problem
Fintech platforms and PSPs expose APIs for payments, settlements, and refunds — frequent targets of credential theft and replay attacks.

Data in Scope
Payments, PII (e.g., merchant ID, tokenized PAN, transaction ID, routing details)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Encrypt payloads end-to-end between client SDKs and backend gateways. Tokenize transaction IDs and session tokens.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only payment gateways and audit systems can decrypt API payloads. API keys mapped to service accounts with least privilege.

Outcome / Impact
Reduces risk of fraudulent API calls and unauthorized transaction replay.

Threat Type
Credential Abuse / API Exploitation — FIN groups (e.g., FIN13) and organized fraud rings leverage stolen API keys or OAuth tokens to trigger fake payments. Attackers employ credential stuffing, enumeration of endpoints, and abuse of sandbox/test environments.

3. Protect Virtual Card Number (VCN) Issuance and Lifecycle

Problem
VCNs reduce static card exposure but generate new risks if lifecycle controls and token vaults are compromised.

Data in Scope
Payments, PII (e.g., VCN, expiration, underlying PAN, merchant mapping)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Tokenize underlying PANs and encrypt merchant binding details. Enforce key rotation and one-time-use VCN policies at issuer level.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only card vault and issuer authorization services can decrypt full PAN-to-VCN mapping.

Outcome / Impact
Prevents mass exposure of virtual card mappings and enforces transaction-level isolation.

Threat Type
Card Data Manipulation / Credential Theft — FIN actors and carding marketplaces use API or issuer compromise to mass-generate or test VCNs. Common tactics: automation, enumeration, and exfiltration via payment processors or reseller portals.

4. Encrypt Account Aggregation and Open Banking APIs

Problem
Account aggregators and fintechs rely on open banking APIs (PSD2) that expose account, balance, and transaction data across institutions.

Data in Scope
PII, Financial (e.g., account number, tokenized IBAN, transaction data, linked credentials)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Encrypt all data exchanged between aggregators and banks. Use pseudonymized tokens to represent account owners in cross-bank data flows.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only regulated TPP (Third-Party Provider) services can decrypt payloads; tokens cannot be reused across institutions.

Outcome / Impact
Ensures privacy and security in API-driven data exchange.

Threat Type
Supply Chain / API Abuse — FIN and APT groups (e.g., APT38) exploit weak PSD2 implementations to intercept tokens and replay API requests. Attack tactics: OAuth token theft, API impersonation, and man-in-the-middle injection.

5. Tokenize Merchant and PSP Settlement Data

Problem
Fintechs handling settlement between merchants, acquirers, and PSPs manage sensitive account and payout data.

Data in Scope
Financial, PII (e.g., merchant bank account, settlement amount, transaction batch ID)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Tokenize account and routing fields in settlement files. Encrypt payout reports and logs before distribution to merchants.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only reconciliation and settlement microservices may decrypt; merchant portals receive masked data.

Outcome / Impact
Prevents leakage of merchant financial details and reduces insider fraud.

Threat Type
Data Exfiltration / Insider Collusion — FIN insiders or affiliates steal merchant settlement data for fraud or extortion. Techniques: privilege abuse, script automation, and unauthorized S3 bucket synchronization.

6. Secure Embedded Finance and Partner Integrations

Problem
Fintechs embedding lending, insurance, or payments into third-party apps face high supply-chain risk via partner APIs.

Data in Scope
PII, Financial, SPI (e.g., partner user ID, transaction token, embedded loan terms)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Encrypt partner payloads; token exchange for cross-domain identity mapping. Apply rate limiting and per-partner key isolation.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Each partner integration uses unique credentials; access scoped by service and data class.

Outcome / Impact
Prevents one partner breach from cascading to others in the fintech ecosystem.

Threat Type
Supply Chain Compromise / Data Abuse — UNC and FIN actors exploit partner SDKs or API credentials in mobile and SaaS ecosystems. Common methods: dependency hijacking, API impersonation, and token replay attacks.

7. Encrypt Payout and Payroll Disbursement Systems

Problem
Fintech platforms managing mass payouts and payroll APIs store bank details and personal data for contractors and gig workers.

Data in Scope
PII, Financial (e.g., name, bank account, routing, tax ID, payout ID)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Field-level encryption of bank and tax identifiers. Tokenization of employee or gig IDs.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only payout processors and licensed banking partners can decrypt full account data.

Outcome / Impact
Protects worker financial data and prevents fraud in payment routing.

Threat Type
Fraud / Insider Leakage — FIN groups and rogue insiders manipulate payout files or tokens to reroute payments. Techniques: credential reuse, privilege escalation, and file tampering within CI/CD or data pipelines.

8. Mask Transaction Data in Fraud Detection and Risk Platforms

Problem
Fraud and AML models require detailed transaction data that could expose customer identity or payment details.

Data in Scope
Financial, Behavioral (e.g., transaction ID, device fingerprint, IP, tokenized PAN)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Pseudonymize or tokenize identity attributes before analytics ingestion. Apply differential access policies for model retraining.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Fraud and AML systems decrypt on-demand; analysts access masked aggregates.

Outcome / Impact
Enables safe fraud analysis while maintaining data privacy and compliance.

Threat Type
Cloud Data Breach / Data Leakage — FIN and access broker groups target analytics environments to steal high-value transaction data. Attackers exploit misconfigurations, API keys, and overprivileged service roles.

9. Protect Card Token Vaults and Issuer Authorization Data

Problem
Token vaults linking card tokens to underlying PANs are critical infrastructure; compromise results in catastrophic fraud.

Data in Scope
Payments, SPI (e.g., card token, underlying PAN, device binding data, cryptogram)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Encrypt all mappings between PANs and tokens using hardware-backed key management. Rotate keys per issuer.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Only tokenization service and issuer HSMs can decrypt mappings.

Outcome / Impact
Maintains token integrity and reduces systemic card data exposure.

Threat Type
Infrastructure Breach / Key Compromise — FIN and APT actors (e.g., APT38) target issuer tokenization environments and HSM APIs for key extraction. Attack chains involve insider collusion, privilege escalation, and lateral movement into secure enclaves.

10. Secure Cross-Border Remittance and FX Platforms

Problem
Remittance and FX APIs transfer PII and financial data between multiple jurisdictions and partners, creating complex exposure surfaces.

Data in Scope
PII, Financial (e.g., sender/receiver ID, KYC data, IBAN, FX rate, transaction reference)

Ubiq Controls Applied
Encrypt remittance payloads per jurisdiction. Apply token-based user linking across regions with local key custody.

IAM / Access Policy Logic
Regional processing nodes decrypt with region-specific keys; central ops retain only masked metadata.

Outcome / Impact
Ensures data localization compliance and protects personal data across international corridors.

Threat Type
Cross-Border Espionage / Credential Theft — APT and FIN groups (e.g., APT41, FIN11) intercept or monitor remittance traffic for PII harvesting and currency manipulation. Tactics: phishing of partner credentials, compromise of FX APIs, and data exfiltration through encrypted channels.