Cloud Security in Banking: A Handy Guide
Cloud security in banking refers to the measures undertaken to protect a given bank’s data in the cloud. Today banks are under rising pressure to find innovative ways to reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies. And at the same time, the pandemic made it clear that banks could no longer put off modernizing legacy systems. It would help deliver the products and services consumers can now expect.
As you can imagine, there is much to be gained from cloud security in banking, including the following benefits:
1. Cost reduction: Cloud solutions help banks reduce costs since they no longer require spending vast amounts of money on setting up conventional IT infrastructure.
2. Better security: Given the digital age, it makes sense that banks are apprehensive about security in the cloud. Thankfully, they do not have to worry on that front since cloud solutions get a vast number of in-built security features which can be further fortified with banks’ internal security measures.
Time to take a look at the critical challenges associated with cloud banking and how you can overcome them:
1. Compliance: Most banks’ setups essentially involve conventional IT infrastructure and architectures that are not entirely compatible with the cloud, thus giving rise to compliance-related challenges. An effective way to deal with this challenge is by ensuring that employees receive proper training in the context of security best practices.
2. Inadequate standards: Because there are no established industry standards as far as cloud security positions go, it has become quite challenging for banks to gauge the level of security afforded to their data and systems in the cloud. A wise strategy would be implementing comprehensive security controls to alleviate these concerns.
3. Security management: Compared to security management for conventional IT infrastructure, cloud banking solutions can be significantly more complex. To help with this, it is imperative to set up precise and unambiguous security policies encompassing key aspects, including vulnerability management and access control.
Now, let us also take a look at the main security features that make a robust cloud banking solution:
1. Ease regulatory compliance: This one is practically a no-brainer; considering the sheer number of threats in the digital realm, authorities across the globe have introduced many regulations to protect users’ data. Hence, a good cloud banking solution will offer compliance configurations and assurances.
2. Security from the get-go: Another must for cloud banking solutions is the provision of bank-level encryption and other industry-standard data security features to safeguard all sorts of data, especially the sensitive kinds. Take virus scanning; this feature can help banks alleviate the risk associated with infected files.
3. Fulfill industry standards: Not just banks but all entities operating in the banking and finance sector ought to look for cloud solutions that offer relevant industry-standard security certifications, such as PCI DSS, SOC 2, and ISO 27001. It may also help to know that most cloud service providers are subjected to third-party audits to ensure consistent and top-notch security of their offerings.
To wrap up this discussion about cloud security in banking, let us also take a quick minute to talk about the latest trends in this regard. The most noteworthy trends in cloud security include vendor risk management, data security, and DevSecOps. Driven by these trends and the unique context of banking, cloud service providers are increasingly offering highly-customized solutions to ensure regulatory compliance and address other common challenges in the sector. Well, that sums up cloud computing for banks. If you, too, want this modern technology to work for your organization, we recommend you start looking for a trusted vendor immediately.
