The United States’ financial services sector is on high alert for possible electronic attacks amid the country’s war against Iran, with financial institutions stepping up monitoring for threats that often increase during periods of geopolitical conflict, executives and analysts said.
The death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei last weekend in an airstrike sparked a Middle East conflagration that roiled global markets and raised concerns about the potential for Iran-linked digital attacks on U.S. financial services operations.
“The industry remains vigilant and ready to respond to cyber threats at all times, especially when global cybersecurity risks are elevated,” said Todd Klessman, managing director of digital financial services and technology at industry group SIFMA, which conducts an annual exercise to ensure financial firms can operate during significant emergencies.
“We continue to monitor the current situation with a focus on operational resilience, which is critical to the integrity and stability of U.S. capital markets,” said Klessman.
Another senior US banking official said banks are very concerned about the risk of digital attacks, which they consider likely.
US intelligence
According to a US intelligence assessment released by Reuters on Monday, Iran-aligned hackers could carry out attacks against US networks, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, in which hostile actors overwhelm a target server with a flood of internet traffic until it becomes inoperable.
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Credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS said on Tuesday that the most significant risks to global banks and asset managers are likely indirect, including higher oil prices and shocks to borrowers, but warned that digital risks could also increase.
“Iran may increase its cyberattacks against Western entities, including banks,” the credit rating agency said.
The geopolitical consulting team at U.S. investment bank Lazard also flagged digital risks this week, noting that Iran has demonstrated a willingness to employ electronic capabilities against commercial targets, including financial systems.
According to a 2025 report from the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), an industry consortium, the financial services industry was the top target for DDoS attacks in 2024, with wars between Hamas and Israel and between Russia and Ukraine fueling an increase in hacking activity.
While the industry has not suffered a major recent disruption due to a hostile attack, smaller-scale DDoS attacks as well as ransomware attacks have hit parts of the market.
A 2023 ransomware attack on the U.S. brokerage unit of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China disrupted the settlement of some U.S. Treasury trades.
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An FS-ISAC spokesperson did not comment on the matter.
