Summary

When a threat actor walks into your network using a legitimate username and password, which control stops them? For most financial institutions, the honest answer is: nothing catches it immediately. The attacker looks like an authorised user. They move laterally, escalate privileges, and map critical systems for an average of 186 days before the breach is even identified — and a further 55 days to contain it — according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report (2025).

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