Cybersecurity & Data Privacy- From a Security Services Leaders Standpoint
Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Finance from Rutgers University and having completed his MBA from Yale School of Management, Anuj has been associated with Soteria for over four years now, prior to which he held the role of Vice President at Tenon Facility Management. Additionally, he is also currently serving as the Country Head - Singapore for Peregrine Security. In a recent conversation with Siliconindia, Anuj Rajain, CEO, Soteria shared his insights on various aspects pertaining to data security, especially in the BFSI space. Below are the excerpts from the exclusive interview
Share your thoughts on data security and privacy in today’s banking services scenario
A few years earlier, although data security was still a very important aspect of the banking industry, the recently passed Data Protection Bill has taken the data security norms to a step higher than it has ever been. Until today, the most structured and well-protected data security setup would be seen only in Europe. I believe India is moving in the similar direction, wherein both the government agencies and private sector companies have taken data security very seriously and are accordingly working in this regard.
What are some of the widely used technologies to ensure cybersecurity in the banking sector?
We do data security on a large scale, wherein if we detect any data breach, we immediately inform the bank. In a service agreement between the bank and the service provider who is providing security services to the bank, it is not mandated for the service provider to stop the data breach. For that, specialized InfoSoc communities and entities come into play to track and monitor them. However, we must mandatorily get a VPAT certification done for our location, as this is one of the most important aspects in ensuring customers that our services comply with all frameworks related to cybersecurity and data privacy. Additionally, the firewalls that we have are constantly updated with the latest patches to ensure that there are no security lapses.
Tell us about a few aspects BFSIs must take care of while integrating automation technologies into their processes.
Due to the huge technological advancements that we have witnessed in recent times, almost every organization and business leaders are now eagerly waiting to integrate AI/ML into their existing systems to tackle their data security related problems. Given the massive criticalities that are involved in the BFSI sector, integrating latest technologies for the betterment of the services for the customer is now like a mandate for all companies in the industry; the same goes for AI/ML as well. However, it is important for BFSIs to conduct a thorough analysis and get a clear idea on whether their existing technologies and systems already good enough, or do they have to upgrade to newer, more advanced tech systems. In today’s standpoint, considering that no technology has much longevity and there is always an upgraded & better tech advancements anticipated, it is very important for BFSI companies to invest their money wisely on the right technologies and solutions. Although AI is important for every business today, we are constantly trying to persuade our clients to focus more on sustainable AI, as the cost of just deploying the technology must not outweigh the benefits that they would derive from it.
Explain the pros and con of opting for third-party technology providers by the banking firms
The key benefit of opting for third-party service providers is that you will be having a team of expert professionals who are specialists in a specific area of operations which you might not be efficient at. The profound domain knowledge that these service providers possess will also act as an added strength for you company towards your efforts to reduce errors, maximize productivity and achieve the overall goals & objective in a highly efficient and accelerated manner. Also, if you decide to buy any product or solution, you have to shell-out huge amounts of money on it. On the other hand, the same product or solution will be readily available with the third-party service providers as they use it on a daily basis. This way, you can also save large sums of money by outsourcing your operations.
However, the disadvantage of opting for third party vendor is that your freedom of doing something new is limited to the flexibility of the service provider partner that you have. As a result, you will always have to consider the vendor partner and include them in the decision making process if you want to make any changes the processes or application where their solutions are deployed.
Share your thoughts on data security and privacy in today’s banking services scenario
A few years earlier, although data security was still a very important aspect of the banking industry, the recently passed Data Protection Bill has taken the data security norms to a step higher than it has ever been. Until today, the most structured and well-protected data security setup would be seen only in Europe. I believe India is moving in the similar direction, wherein both the government agencies and private sector companies have taken data security very seriously and are accordingly working in this regard.
What are some of the widely used technologies to ensure cybersecurity in the banking sector?
We do data security on a large scale, wherein if we detect any data breach, we immediately inform the bank. In a service agreement between the bank and the service provider who is providing security services to the bank, it is not mandated for the service provider to stop the data breach. For that, specialized InfoSoc communities and entities come into play to track and monitor them. However, we must mandatorily get a VPAT certification done for our location, as this is one of the most important aspects in ensuring customers that our services comply with all frameworks related to cybersecurity and data privacy. Additionally, the firewalls that we have are constantly updated with the latest patches to ensure that there are no security lapses.
Although AI is important for every business today, we are constantly trying to persuade our clients to focus more on sustainable AI, as the cost of just deploying the technology must not outweigh the benefits that they would derive from it
Tell us about a few aspects BFSIs must take care of while integrating automation technologies into their processes.
Due to the huge technological advancements that we have witnessed in recent times, almost every organization and business leaders are now eagerly waiting to integrate AI/ML into their existing systems to tackle their data security related problems. Given the massive criticalities that are involved in the BFSI sector, integrating latest technologies for the betterment of the services for the customer is now like a mandate for all companies in the industry; the same goes for AI/ML as well. However, it is important for BFSIs to conduct a thorough analysis and get a clear idea on whether their existing technologies and systems already good enough, or do they have to upgrade to newer, more advanced tech systems. In today’s standpoint, considering that no technology has much longevity and there is always an upgraded & better tech advancements anticipated, it is very important for BFSI companies to invest their money wisely on the right technologies and solutions. Although AI is important for every business today, we are constantly trying to persuade our clients to focus more on sustainable AI, as the cost of just deploying the technology must not outweigh the benefits that they would derive from it.
Explain the pros and con of opting for third-party technology providers by the banking firms
The key benefit of opting for third-party service providers is that you will be having a team of expert professionals who are specialists in a specific area of operations which you might not be efficient at. The profound domain knowledge that these service providers possess will also act as an added strength for you company towards your efforts to reduce errors, maximize productivity and achieve the overall goals & objective in a highly efficient and accelerated manner. Also, if you decide to buy any product or solution, you have to shell-out huge amounts of money on it. On the other hand, the same product or solution will be readily available with the third-party service providers as they use it on a daily basis. This way, you can also save large sums of money by outsourcing your operations.
However, the disadvantage of opting for third party vendor is that your freedom of doing something new is limited to the flexibility of the service provider partner that you have. As a result, you will always have to consider the vendor partner and include them in the decision making process if you want to make any changes the processes or application where their solutions are deployed.
