Six Ways Automation Has Helped Banks And Other Financial Institutions Improve Security

Banks and other financial institutions have long struggled to keep pace with the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats. In recent years, however, automation has emerged as a powerful tool that can help institutions improve their security posture.

Automation can help banks and other financial institutions in many ways, from company culture to data collection, fraud prevention, customer service relations, and to reduce SOX compliance costs.

Compliance experts are sharing their thoughts on how automation has helped banks, specifically in security, and how other companies in highly regulated industries can benefit.

1. Creating a Compliance-Focused Culture

Banks are under immense pressure to maintain a secure environment and prevent data breaches. An automated compliance management system (CMS) creates a culture where security becomes a priority habitually rather than being an afterthought.

When everyone in the organization is aware of and responsible for their part in compliance, it creates a much more secure environment. Even better, when employees include compliance management practices as part of their daily routine, it can become second nature and help reduce human error.

2. Building Confidence and Trust in Data Collection

In order to assess security risks, banks need to collect data from various departments and evaluate it for potential threats. Pathlock advises that when this process is completed manually, it can be time-consuming and prone to human error.

Automating data collection can help banks quickly and accurately gather the information they need to identify potential threats. It also eliminates the potential for human error, which can lead to missed threats or false positives.

By automating data collection, banks can build confidence and trust in the accuracy of their information, which can help them make better decisions about how to protect their data.

3. Quickly Diffusing Potential Threats

When a potential threat is identified, it is vital to act quickly to address it. Automation can help banks rapidly assess the risk and take appropriate action.

Banks can use automation to automatically shut down suspicious activity, send alerts to the appropriate personnel, and take other steps to mitigate the threat. By responding quickly, banks can minimize the damage from a potential attack.

Implementing SOX Compliance

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, is a United States federal law passed in 2002 in response to the Enron scandal of the early 2000s. People cheated on their taxes, and many people lost a lot of money. Because of this, SOX requires companies to implement controls and procedures to ensure the accuracy of financial reporting. It also increases corporate accountability for misconduct by senior executives.

Banks and other financial institutions must comply with SOX if they are publicly traded. Compliance can be expensive, but automation can help reduce SOX compliance costs. By automating data collection and other tasks, banks can reduce the time and resources needed to meet SOX compliance requirements.

4. Understanding Activity Trends

Banks must understand “normal” activity to prevent fraud and other banking compliance risks. This way, they can tell when something is unusual and might be a potential threat.

Automation tracks activity trends over time and flags anything that falls outside the norm. This allows banks to identify potential threats and take action to prevent them quickly.

Tracking activity trends famously prevented fraud in the case of the Bangladesh Bank Heist in 2016. Automated systems noticed an unusual transaction pattern and alerted bank officials, who were able to prevent almost all of the $1 billion dollars that hackers planned to steal. 

5. Strengthening Customer Service Relations

By automating repetitive tasks like password reset requests, banks can free up customer service representatives to focus on more complex issues. Offering quicker, more efficient service can help build trust and confidence between the financial institution and its customers.

In addition, banks can proactively use automation to reach out to customers about potential fraud. By being proactive, banks can prevent fraud before it happens and avoid the customer service issues arising from it.

6. Providing Comprehensive Data

To make informed security decisions, banks need access to comprehensive data. Automation can help banks collect and organize data from various sources to provide a clear picture of the organization’s current security posture.

This data can be used to create situational awareness and identify potential threats. It can also be used to assess the effectiveness of current security measures and make improvements where necessary.

Implementing Automation in Your Bank

Automation can help banks improve their security posture by building a culture of security, increasing confidence and trust in data collection, quickly diffusing potential threats, understanding activity trends, and strengthening customer service relations.

If you’re interested in implementing automation in your bank, look for a solution to help you achieve these objectives, which can be customized to your specific needs. Doing so can help your bank stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats.