Banking on Security: Account Takeover and Beyond
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In today’s digital age, banking institutions are facing an unprecedented threat from cybercriminals. As banks strive to provide seamless customer experiences, they must also fortify their defenses against various forms of financial crime.
The Anatomy of an Account Takeover
An account takeover typically begins with a phishing email or text message that tricks customers into revealing their login credentials. Once the hacker gains access to the account, they can siphon funds, make unauthorized transactions, or even drain the account entirely.
Tactics Used by Cybercriminals
- Malware attacks
- Card-not-present fraud
- Skimming devices
The Unified Operating Model
A unified operating model for financial crimes, fraud, and cybersecurity is crucial in today’s digital landscape. Banks must probe questions about:
- Processes and activities
- People and organization
- Data and technology
- Governance
to achieve a target risk operating model.
Examples of Leading Banks
- Redefining organizational “lines and boxes” and roles, responsibilities, activities, and capabilities required across each line of defense
- Combining all operations related to financial crimes into a single global utility
The Roadmap to Security
To achieve the target state they seek, banks must:
Steps to Strengthen Defenses
- Integrate business, operations, security, and risk teams for efficient intelligence sharing and collaborative responses to threats.
- Consolidate processes and activities across silos to enhance risk effectiveness and efficiency.
- Redefine organizational “lines and boxes” and roles, responsibilities, activities, and capabilities required across each line of defense.
- Implement robust data management practices to ensure consistency and streamlining of data activities.
Protecting Customer Assets
By following this roadmap, banks can strengthen their defenses against account takeover and other forms of financial crime, ultimately protecting customer assets and maintaining the trust of their customers.
Conclusion
In today’s digital age, banking institutions must be proactive in preventing account takeovers and other forms of financial crime. By adopting a unified operating model that integrates cybersecurity and fraud prevention strategies across all lines of defense, banks can stay ahead of cybercriminals and maintain the trust of their customers.