Too often we hear from new clients in the financial services sector they’ve suffered panic and disorganization in their security protection. In this post we’re going to outline outdated approaches as well our recommendations to thwart invasion.

Cyber threats are proliferating faster than most lending institutions can fully understand. It’s often best to approach delving into your security measures with a proven tactical plan. One that not only manages your risk but also pinpoints the best protocol to detect and recover.

Don’t forget your biggest security risk can also emerge as your competitive market advantage in regard to growing new business. But only if you develop a unified security proposition instilling trust and protection to consumers. Something many financial services companies struggle with is how to evolve their protection toward new trends in advanced security. One in particular we strongly suggest is developed by changing how your organization manages your threats in stages.

Your biggest security risk can also emerge as your competitive market advantage in regard to growing new business

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We refer to them as anticipate, protect, pinpoint, respond and recover. These stages are vital to developing a systematic plan to safeguard your customer data. Remember, cyber attacks are your responsibility and therefore can cause liability risk for your institution.

Manages your threats in stages: anticipate, protect, pinpoint, respond and recover

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Anticipate

Although it’s a sizable dose of reality to anticipate all threats, one thing is for certain. The chances of your company being attacked are high no matter what level of security you currently have in place. Ideally, we recommend developing a full-scale anticipation plan whereby you monitor irregularities in user access to your networks.

The problem we see all too often with financial services institutions is they embrace a generalized security plan. Usually ones that are developed by unqualified IT security consultants who do not have the necessary background in financial security.

We recommend investing in cyber ‘fusion centers’ which provide a more robust security protocol based on the team concept. Instead of handing the keys to your security to a few IT technicians, the fusion center approach delivers real-time intelligence monitoring of your networks.

Active cyber threats exist from third-party vendors and in some cases, consultants with credentials to your network exposing your customer data to unsuspecting threats. We’ve seen some cases where third-party access was not monitored at all by systems managers. This type of risk is exponential and often goes undetected for years exposing your networks to invasion.

Protect

For decades financial security was based on building generalized gateways to protect your entire network. However, this style of protection is too limited in the new age of wireless banking. But why?

Defending your raw data as well as sensitive customer information now is best approached by integrating a ‘defense in depth’ risk approach. Specifically targeting high-risk/value data and developing a security plan which provides layers of both encryption and detection.

Pinpoint

With the development of smartphone easy-pay apps, your security is tested on a daily basis. Although electronic wireless payment products are ideal for marketing purposes, they come with additional threats.

A smart approach is to pinpoint both your wireless and wired gateways and create a risk plan which pinpoints sensitive data exposure. Often financial institutions employing full-time security analysts. However, what we’ve found is that they rely on outdated encryption protocols exposing your networks to threat.

Respond and Recover

Traditionally, financial companies have relied on local resources and employees to manage their IT security. Bad idea. At least in terms of analyzing threats to your networks which are exposing you to risk.

New trends in cyber-security are moving toward big data management. We advise our clients to invest in dynamic real-time monitoring, analytics and threat response for ideal detection, response and recovery.

Remember, your network and data is your largest asset waiting for intrusion.