Customers using online banking have seen a technological boom from financial organizations, making it easier to do business with the click of a button. A bank’s online platform must be user-friendly and available to customers 24/7, but also has to have security measures that meet state and federal standards for data protection.
Risks of Failing to Secure Your Financial Institution’s Online Platform
Financial institutions face not only all of the online security risks of other businesses, but also the added hazard of being a prime target for cyberattacks. Cybercriminals are constantly looking to exploit weaknesses in security systems, making it vital for banks and other financial institutions to consistently improve and implement new defense measures.
Financial institutions that do not have adequate network security and deployment are placing themselves at risk of:
- Theft of protected information. Banks have a duty to protect sensitive financial information, including customers' and employees’ personal identifiable information (PII). Data such as bank account numbers and balances, Social Security numbers, addresses, lending statements, and payment card numbers can all be sold on the black market and be used for identity theft.
- Penalties and fines. Each nation is responsible for controlling the security of financial information in its banks. Financial service providers operating in the U.S. are required to comply with numerous statutes and regulations pertaining to data collection and protection, as well as state or provincial regulations regarding the security of sensitive information. Failure to implement these controls can result in significant fines for bank owners and officers.
- Mistaken transmission of sensitive information. Financial institutions may have adequate security of their hardware, but use applications and third-party providers with undiscovered vulnerabilities. Email clients, file sharing services, and cloud storage systems can allow the transmission of protected data outside the bounds of a secure network (where opportunistic cybercriminals can easily access it).
- Loss of reputation. Even if a data loss event occurred because of an unknown glitch or an external entity, a financial institution will inevitably be associated with the event—especially if a strong data loss recovery system is not in place. The failure to implement data loss and recovery that meets industry standards ultimately results in a loss of reputation that can permanently halt operations.
Our Center Provides Cloud Computing For Banks Nationally
ATI Solutions has provided IT services to community banks for over two decades, and can implement financial infrastructure that is compliant with regulations and scalable to you your bank’s growing needs. Contact us today to get more information about the storage and service options in our D.C. data centers, or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.
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