GS-3: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Cybersecurity & Banks
Context: With increasing emphasis being laid on digitisation for financial institutions, there has been a monumental increase in cybersecurity threats as well.
Therefore, the need for stringent cybersecurity measures for digital banking is now more pressing than ever.
The threats
Malware: Digital transactions are generally conducted on end-to-end user devices such as mobiles, computers, etc. If devices being used for access are infected with malware, then they end up posing a serious security risk to the bank’s cybersecurity network, whenever they connect with it.
Third-party services: Numerous banks employ the services of third-party vendors, to be able to serve their customers in a better manner. However, if the vendors do not take active cybersecurity measures, then the bank can end up facing the repercussions.
Spoofing: Cybercriminals try impersonating a bank’s URL with a website that is quite similar to the original one and has similar functions as well. Whenever a user enters his or her login to tensions into the fake website, the credentials are then stolen by the criminals.
Phishing: Attempting to obtain sensitive information such as credit card details, etc. for fraudulent activities, by disguising oneself as an authentic, trustworthy entity via electronic communication
Unencrypted data: It is imperative that whatever data that is stored on the computers, or servers of banks, needs to be encrypted fully, which ensures that even in the event of data being stolen, it cannot be used by cybercriminals.
The challenges
Lack of awareness: There aren’t a lot of firms that end up investing in training and enhancing overall awareness related to cybersecurity amongst people.
Increased use of social media: Many a time, customers who are not well-versed with cybersecurity measures, end up putting the data for anyone to see.
Inadequate budget and lack of management: Cybersecurity is often neglected in budget allocations, where the firm does not realise the monumental impact that these threats can have.
The solutions
Integrated security: In a sector as regulated as BFSI, integrated security is the future.
Machine learning and big data analytics: These are essential for leveraging cyber resilience.
Updated antivirus and anti-malware applications offer the best protection from attacks that can be potentially disastrous
Endpoint protection: Financial institutions need to invest in technologies that can enhance the endpoint protection.
