CYBERSECURITY
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“ MORE CHANNELS MEAN THAT THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL POINTS OF COMPROMISE AND POTENTIAL VULNERABIL- ITIES IN SYSTEMS HAS INCREASED ”
— Daniel Cohen , Director of Fraud & Risk Intelligence , RSA Security
payments , creating rogue mobile applications , mobile-based card- not-present fraud , and even adapting banking malware to exploit current trends and pose a more sophistic- ated threat .
Does the growth of new fintech businesses and consumers ’ focus on digital banking increase the risk , then ?
Traditionally , banks have had very closed systems , which gives them an added layer of protection against outside threats . When you open this up , it naturally creates new risks . So it is fair to say that yes , there is an increase in risk . With a growing array of digital banking channels available , customers seemingly have infinite possibilities for conducting financial business . At the same time , this has expanded the number digital risks that banks must manage . More channels mean that the number of potential points of compromise and potential vulnerabilities in systems has increased . When it comes to fraud , there ’ s now a far higher risk of fraudulent transactions slipping through the net because of the rise in the volume of digital payments , for example . The total value of money being transferred through digital channels is also increasing , which is exposing the sector to more potential losses from reimbursing victims .
However , there are risks to not engaging with and embracing innovation too – such as loss of market share and revenues – which are just as real . We live in a hyper-connected world and organisations that don ’ t engage in that will be left behind as customers have such high expectations of service . So it ’ s really about balance : organisations need to understand the digital risks
DECEMBER 2019