What is account takeover and how to protect your business from it

How ATO attacks have evolved in 2025

Modern account takeover attacks have evolved from opportunistic credential theft to sophisticated and precise AI-powered campaigns targeting business accounts. Understanding these changes can help you stay ahead and protect your business against the latest threats.

AI eliminates traditional warning signs

Attackers using artificial intelligence can create convincing phishing communications. AI-powered tools now generate perfectly crafted emails with proper grammar, authentic-sounding language, and convincing corporate branding. The telltale signs that security awareness training taught us to recognize, such as spelling errors, awkward phrasing, generic greetings, have largely disappeared.

In the recent US$25 million deepfake scam in Hong Kong, attackers were able to use real-time video impersonation during live conference calls to convince a finance worker to authorize multiple transfers. In startups where financial decisions often rest with small leadership teams, these AI-enhanced social engineering attacks represent an extraordinary vulnerability.

Smaller teams mean fewer people are available to verify unusual requests. When your CFO, CEO, and Head of Finance might be the same person, there's no secondary approval process to catch sophisticated impersonation attempts.

Credential stuffing exploits business weaknesses

There are almost 26 million credential stuffing attempts per month, where attackers purchase breached credentials in bulk on dark web marketplaces, then systematically test these login combinations against banking platforms, email accounts, and business management tools.

A recent study of a global fintech platform revealed that 3-5% of customer credentials appeared in breach databases, with users averaging 30-40 exposed passwords each. This creates predictable security patterns that enable systematic account compromise across multiple business services.

Startups are particularly vulnerable as their focus on growth often means security controls lag behind operational needs. The lack of effective risk management practices and tools leaves new businesses exposed during their most critical expansion phases.

SIM swapping becomes industrialized

SIM swapping attacks have led to business executives becoming primary targets due to their privileged access to financial systems. Attackers used SIM swapping to gain control of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Twitter account, posting fake Bitcoin ETF approval announcements that temporarily manipulated cryptocurrency markets before being detected and corrected.

Compromised accounts from business leaders and executives provide attackers with much broader access levels. A compromised leader's account offers multiple avenues for exploitation and fraud, from authorizing wire transfers to accessing confidential business information that enables further attacks. This makes implementing proper access management controls absolutely critical for protecting against cascading compromises.

When ATO attacks hit your business

ATO attacks targeting financial institutions increased 113% in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year, while cryptocurrency account takeovers surged 79% as attackers recognize the growing role of digital assets in business operations.

ATO fraud can impact revenue in smaller financial institutions, creating a cascading effect where reduced security budgets make them even more vulnerable to future attacks. This creates a particularly dangerous environment for startups and growing businesses that depend on these same institutions for banking and financial services.

When attackers compromise business accounts, they often use that access to launch additional attacks against customers, vendors, and partners, creating reputational damage and potential legal liability.

What compliance actually requires

The regulatory landscape has evolved rapidly to address ATO threats, with implications for both fintech platforms and their business customers. Understanding regulatory requirements helps evaluate both your security obligations and the platforms you choose to manage business finances. 

Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Technology Risk Management Notice (effective May 2024) establishes robust requirements for financial institutions operating in Singapore's fintech hub.

• Identification of critical systems with specific reliability standards
• Comprehensive IT controls protecting customer information from unauthorized access
• Third-party risk management protocols

Violations can result in penalties up to $1 million 

United States

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's 2021 Authentication Guidance replaced previous versions with significantly stronger requirements.

• Risk-based authentication is now mandatory for all users including employees, customers, and third parties. 
• The guidance strongly recommends multi-factor authentication for all high-risk transactions while acknowledging that single-factor authentication is fundamentally insufficient for modern threats.

Despite widespread implementation of FFIEC guidance, 71% of financial institutions report that ATO incidents stayed the same or increased. Effective prevention will still require businesses to take proactive measures beyond basic compliance and baseline rules.

European Union

The Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) outlines specific ATO prevention requirements.

• Mandatory Strong Customer Authentication for transactions above €50 and required two-factor authentication using knowledge, possession, and inherence factors.
• Account access controls for third-party providers require explicit customer consent, creating additional complexity for business account management.

With GDPR, financial platforms need to balance fraud prevention capabilities with privacy protection requirements. This makes choosing platforms that handle regulatory compliance professionally particularly important for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.

How your business can avoid ATO

Effective ATO prevention starts with fundamental security practices that any business can implement immediately. 

1. Use unique passwords for every business account
   Password reuse is typically the single biggest vulnerability in most small businesses. Create passwords with at least 12 characters combining uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Use a business password manager like Bitwarden or 1Password to generate and store unique passwords for each account. Set passwords to expire annually for high-risk accounts, and never reuse passwords across any business services

2. Enable two-factor authentication wherever it's available
   Start with your business banking platform, email accounts, and financial management tools. While SMS-based codes aren't perfect, they provide significantly better protection than passwords alone. When possible, use authenticator apps like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator instead of SMS verification.
   <Learn how to change your Aspire Two-Step Authentication Method> 

3. Set up account alerts and notifications for all critical accounts
   Configure your business bank to text or email you for every transaction above a reasonable threshold, new device logins, and any account changes. Apply the same approach to email accounts, payment processors, and business credit cards. Rapid notification enables rapid response to prevent small compromises from becoming major breaches.
   <Enable real-time notifications with Aspire>

4. Conduct quarterly password audits
   Review all business accounts every three months. Look for weak passwords, shared credentials, or accounts that former employees can still access. A 30-minute quarterly review can help prevent months of recovery work by catching vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.

5. Always verify financial requests through a secondary channel
   When someone emails asking you to change payment details, authorize wire transfers, or update banking information, pick up the phone and confirm directly with them using contact information you already have on file. This simple verification habit stops most business email compromise attacks before they succeed.

6. Establish approval workflows for high-value transactions
   Ensure that two people are required to approve wire transfers above your defined threshold, new vendor payments, or changes to banking details. Even solo founders should implement 24-hour waiting periods for large transactions, providing time to reconsider and verify unusual requests.
   <Set up your custom approval policy in Aspire>

7. Limit account access based on a strict need-to-know basis
   Not every team member needs access to business banking or sensitive financial systems. Regularly review who has login credentials for which accounts, remove access immediately when team members leave, and use role-based permissions when your chosen platforms support granular access controls.

8. Train your team to recognize social engineering tactics
   Fraudsters often use urgent language like "immediate action required" or threaten "account suspension" to create pressure for hasty decisions. They impersonate executives, vendors, or technical support to establish false authority. Teach your team that legitimate companies don't demand immediate action via email or threaten account suspension without prior communication through established channels.

9. Establish clear incident reporting procedures
   Ensure team members know exactly who to contact when they receive suspicious emails, accidentally click suspicious links, or notice unusual account activity. Make reporting fast, simple, and completely judgment-free to encourage rapid communication about potential security incidents.
   <Get step-by-step recovery instructions and immediate assistance with Aspire’s Help Center>
10. Practice safe browsing and email habits
    Never click links in unexpected emails, especially those requesting login credentials or financial information. When accessing business accounts, type URLs directly into your browser or use trusted bookmarks rather than following email links.

11. Secure all devices that access business accounts
    Use screen locks on phones and laptops, enable automatic software updates, and download applications only from official app stores. If any device is lost or stolen, immediately change passwords for all business accounts accessed from that device.

12. Avoid public WiFi networks for business banking and other sensitive activities
    Use your phone's hotspot feature instead, or wait until you're connected to a trusted network. If you must use public WiFi, employ a reputable VPN service, though even then, avoid accessing critical financial accounts.

13. Keep all software updated automatically 
    Start by enabling automatic updates for operating systems, web browsers, and business applications. Most account takeover attacks exploit known vulnerabilities that security patches have already addressed, making timely updates a critical defense.

14. Monitor business accounts daily
    Look for unauthorized transactions, unfamiliar payees, or changes to account settings. Daily monitoring enables detection within hours rather than weeks, dramatically reducing potential damage from successful attacks. For ACH debits specifically, always verify counterparties before authorizing transactions and use NACHA-approved account validation services to confirm recipient account details before processing payments.

15. Set appropriate transaction limits for different account types
    Configure daily and monthly limits that match your typical transaction volumes. If you normally transfer $5,000 monthly, set limits that flag $50,000 transfers for additional approval and verification.

16. Reconcile your accounts weekly
    Look for small unauthorized charges that might indicate testing by attackers preparing for larger fraudulent transactions, as well as obviously fraudulent activity.

Advanced tools and solutions 

Advanced prevention tools provide additional layers of protection against sophisticated attacks. These enterprise-grade solutions have become increasingly accessible to smaller businesses, offering protection that scales with your growth.

Multi-factor authentication architecture

Multi-factor authentication requires users to verify their identity through multiple independent methods, making account compromise exponentially more difficult even when passwords are stolen.

Products/solutions:

• Microsoft Entra ID provides comprehensive identity management for Microsoft-integrated environments
  
  • $6-22 per user monthly fee
  • Conditional access policies
  • Biometric authentication support
  • Hardware security key integration

• JumpCloud
  
  • $12 per user monthly fee
  • Unified directory services
  • Device management
  • Single sign-on capabilities across multiple platforms

• Hardware security keys like the YubiKey 5 Series provide phishing-resistant authentication that attackers cannot intercept or replicate. These physical tokens create cryptographic proof of identity that remains secure even when other authentication factors are compromised.

Behavioral monitoring implementation

Behavioral monitoring systems learn normal usage patterns for each user and account, automatically flagging deviations that indicate potential account compromise or fraudulent activity.

Products/solutions:

• Microsoft Sentinel offers cost-effective behavioral analytics for businesses already using Microsoft security tools
  
  • $2-5 per GB monthly fee
  • Machine learning-powered analysis of user activity patterns can detect anomalies that indicate account compromise

• Darktrace provides AI-powered behavioral monitoring
  
  • $50-100 per endpoint monthly fee
  • Advanced algorithms help establish baseline user behavior patterns, and immediately flag deviations that suggest unauthorized account access

Endpoint protection and device management

Endpoint protection secures all devices that access business accounts, preventing malware infections and unauthorized access that can lead to account takeover attacks.

Products/solutions:

• CrowdStrike Falcon delivers enterprise-grade endpoint protection
  
  • $8-15 per endpoint monthly fee
  • AI-powered threat detection with real-time behavioral analysis that can identify and stop account takeover attempts before they succeed

• Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X offers comprehensive protection for budget-conscious businesses
  
  • $30-50 per endpoint annual fee
  • Ransomware rollback capabilities and deep learning AI detection that provides excellent value for growing businesses

• Device risk evaluation tools help develop comprehensive digital footprints for each device accessing business accounts, identifying trusted devices for both enhanced security and optimized customer experience.

• AI-based fraud detection tools specifically designed to combat deepfake attacks provide additional protection against the most sophisticated social engineering attempts.

Building future-ready defenses for your business

Account takeover attacks represent existential rather than operational threats to growing businesses. As artificial intelligence continues enabling more sophisticated attack techniques, businesses that establish multi-layered defenses will thrive. However, those relying on basic protections face increasing vulnerability to attacks that can destroy months or years of business progress overnight.

Aspire provides the security foundation that globally minded founders need to build confidently, knowing their financial operations are protected by enterprise-grade security that scales with their ambitions. By choosing the right financial platform that prioritize comprehensive security over basic compliance, your business can build the stable foundation necessary to grow and expand.