Banking’s growing need for an impregnable shield
With the advent of online banking, how can we trust that our data and assets are safe? The way consumers interact with their banks has changed immensely. With interactions moving online, so has the security needs. New behavior patterns are emerging leading us to newer ways of guarding our virtual vaults.
The perception that online banking is insecure is a major barrier to the mass adoption of this technology. Also, banks are increasingly aware of the need for strong cybersecurity solutions. Those that stay ahead will have a competitive edge for years to come.
Digital transactions in India spiked by 90% between the financial years 2019 and 2021, as per government data. Further to it, digital payments are predicted to grow three-fold by 2026, keeping 2021 as the base year. In terms of value, that is almost $1 trillion from $300 billion in 2021.
Discover how financial institutions can meet their evolving cybersecurity needs in a world of malicious cyber threats.
Higher value bigger heist
The correlation is no revelation. With higher value and volume of transactions shifting online, so have the threats. The Cosmos Bank Cyber Attack in Pune where money was siphoned off from 28 countries by hackers, shows how the system can be breached across countries. Today the threats range from ATM malware, account-centric frauds, phishing, identity theft, large scale anti-fraud bypass to ransomware and threat from employees. While these may sound like a deluge of problems, help is at hand too.
One step ahead in securing commercial banking
The way ahead for commercial banking is to maintain a tech-forward approach. What was once a fuddy-duddy industry, has gone through an evolution in the last few years. Banking is now relying on its new-found agility to not just digitalize its systems but provide easy service to its bulging database of online customers.
Banks that are quick to study trends and incorporate systems in place identify safety as their topmost agenda. Such upgradation instills confidence and trust in commercial and corporate customers, besides iron-cladding all online operations. The Gulf Bank in Kuwait with a gamut of service offerings like consumer banking, wholesale banking, treasury, and financial services, recently developed and implemented a transformational roadmap to comply with regulatory directives. And this isn’t just a singular event.
No-contact banking
Demonetization followed by the pandemic fueled widespread use and acceptance of online banking. People took on to contactless banking and ease in navigation of mobile apps made the transition smooth. The popularity of online banking is amplifying across age groups and the trend is behavior changing.
This widespread adoption has exposed chinks in the bank’s armor. Data and privacy protection cannot be left to be defended by a six- or eight-character password. Safety needs to be fortified with biometrics authentication, mobile identity confirmation, and multi-factor verification. For enhanced cybersecurity, banks also need to assess data privacy risks in their system on a regular basis.
Regulatory compliance to mitigate risk
Unauthorized access to data, networks and programs, both from internal and external sources, is barred when technology is upgraded frequently. Leading down this path is regulatory compliance. Every compliance requirement by a regulatory authority follows a two-pronged approach, that of risk reduction and protection of data.
Banks today have implemented regulatory compliance through a host of technological tools and solutions in data discovery, data classification, data protection, test data management, data masking, privacy management software, etc. These security tools safeguard processes and secure the banking ecosystem from unauthorized intrusions.
The bank can’t sleep
The digital banking universe is ever expanding. It is no longer limited to transactions on the mobile app, but has spilled over to payment systems, financial records, customer accounts, and cloud services. Exposing the system on many fronts calls for vigilance on all.
Such a high volume of sensitive data generated from a variety of sources requires technology and tools for constant real-time monitoring. Matching pace with data-generation, proactively combing for anomalies in user behavior and sweeping the attack surface for cyber risk is perennially on the to-do list. There is no short-cut to complex data management.
Create awareness about social engineering
In this wall of cybersecurity, the weakest point is where human beings operate. Bank customers and employees are easy prey to a host of social engineering tactics. Phishing, whaling, vishing, smishing, pretexting, baiting, tailgating, piggybacking, quid pro quo, these are some of the common social engineering attacks. The range highlights the point that the modus operandi of cyber-attack is intricately developed. Sensitive data and details leak out of high-security systems through the most vulnerable partners.
These threats are evolving at a rapid pace. Data protection and inherent risk assessment lead to tightening of processes and ensure safety. However, spreading awareness amongst employees and customers to identify and report these threats is the most powerful ammunition in the bank’s hands.
Robust app security
With design innovations and behavior understanding, mobile banking app UI has evolved into its simplest avatar. On the other hand, the security and technology behind it has been reinforced with the latest protective layer. Today cross platform banking apps run a chunk of our economy.
Compromised devices, and especially networks, are a reality in our world. No wonder it is a looming threat to banking service providers. Robust modern security and technology integration loads an app with the required power to squish such threats.
Bottom line: Proactive is the way
The evolving world of cybersecurity calls for intervention at regular intervals. It is crucial for banks and their employees to endlessly update their awareness and systems to identify risks. The bank has to act before the attack happens. Being on the toes is the stance.
