Security concerns need to be understood and addressed as digital payments in the country are expanding
Banking and the security sector in India continues to increase its investment in digital business. The Indian fintech industry, which is in the top five markets by value of capital funding and investments, has witnesses the emergence of innovations which facilitates the integrated financial services over a single mobile interface.
Banks, with the rise in digital adoption, have also witnesses a surge in cyber-attacks as cybercriminals keep on finding new opportunities and vulnerabilities to exploit. This has posed severe concerns for Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other Indian banks.
In the year 2019, fintech was allowed by RBI to try out their innovations in a restricted ecosystem, which foreshadows well for the industry in the country. As compared to other industries, technology leaders in the financial sector have prioritized legacy modernization.
Spotlight was put on digital technologies by the sudden outbreak of Covid-19. The technologies include cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), analytics and machine learning (ML). The financial sector was exposed to breaches by the swell in digitization and remote operations. To respond to cyber incidents, digital leaders and bank executives need to analyse and prepare themselves.
The banking network’s productivity has been affected as cyber risks have shifted to cyber skulduggery, which includes stealing customer’s debit and credit data and siphoning off funds through ATMs. Even money laundering is a threat through sophisticated software programmes and network algorithms.
To protect their data, application, identity, infrastructure, and cloud, traditional banks need to have a proactive approach. Gaps, designing of a security roadmap, and planning of a strategic investment decision in cyber security core domains relevant to business needs and risk appetite have to be regularly addressed by security leaders.
As hackers deal with a large amount of personally identifiable information (PII) and financial data, banks have always been the principal targets of cyber-attacks. Banks ought to forecast the fate of consumer payments to enhance customer satisfaction and prevail competitively.
It is critical to understand the importance of secure digital payments as India shifts its focus towards a cashless economy. As per KPMG, digital payments in the country are expanding at a CAGR of 12.7 per cent. These payments are promising to be entirely cashless but still there are additional challenges in reliability, security and convenience.
It is essential to gear up the adoption of digital payments to have a robust cashless ecosystem. Lack of awareness and security concerns act as key barriers and so confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and non-repeatability must be included in the security architecture. Between the payment and the customer there has to be a sturdy encrypted communication channel established, along with security vulnerability assessment of the application and periodic risk management analysis.
End-user devices like smartphones are also becoming a major concern for digital payments as they usually lack various tools such as antivirus, anti-phishing, etc. This results in exposing the user to the risks of cyber security. Businesses during a transaction are more convenient by the use of mobile devices and so, they are also at a risk of getting exposed. Concentrated attacks through infected applications and lack of user awareness due to various reasons could lead to security incidents.
It is important to get the basics right for secure digital payments, which include designing a structured approach to security, identifying the key business assets and protecting them and deploying secure cyber security frameworks. Also, it is essential to evaluate and establish adequate measures for protection from third-party risks.
Also, it is equally important to install user identity authentication for transactions, inducing the advanced authentication measures. Another key aspect to secure digital payments is quick and effective cyber response.
Businesses need to have self-assessment tools for navigating through the changing security landscape in order to build a secure digital channel. The skills of cyber security professionals need to be strengthened by enterprises and the fundamentals of cyber security technologies need to be enhanced. These professionals need a futuristic approach to design a secure roadmap aligned with the evolving technology and advancing landscape.
Also Read: Payment Security Predictions for 2021
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