Priest said the extent and nature of these security breaches signal a new reality for the global financial industry.

"Execution and exploitation of these attacks require significant resources and coordination, which implies professional hackers and organized crime have entered the domain once ruled by 'script kiddies' and one-off hackers.

"This shift in trend means organizations not only face more sophisticated and hard to track attacks, but are also challenged by increased risk and potential losses. Financial institutions should take these factors into account in their overall security strategy."

"However, the shift to a more sinister criminal profile of online attackers and the potential risk they represent did not go unnoticed by the financial services sector, with evidence that financial institutions have started taking steps to fend off these threats."

Deloitte partner and security specialist, George Stathos said that this year, identity theft and account fraud (58 percent), along with identity and access management (41 percent) made their way into the top five security initiatives for 2006.