| | April 20218IN MY OPINIONith growing internet penetration and the need for financial inclu-sion, banks and financial services institutions (BFSI) have been embracing digital transforma-tion in a big way. Going digital comes with its own benefits. It helps these organizations reduce their operational cost and improve their bottom lines. It also helps eliminate the possibility of human errors. Above all, it offers greater convenience for customers, helping these financial institu-tions attract and retain them. While going digital does offer all these benefits, it comes with risks too­ the risk of cyberattacks and consequent data breaches. The truth is, as the world continues to moves towards digitization at an accelerated pace, the measures to keep that digital world secure have not caught up. Financial firms deal with a wealth of personal and fi-nancial data. For this same reason, they are more prone to cyberattacks. And while customers have adopted digi-tal banking and online transactions in a big way, find-ings from the recently published 2020 Unisys Security IndexTM reflect that concerns around bankcard fraud are very high in India. According to the survey conducted by Unisys, 82% respondents are concerned about bank-card fraud and online banking. The survey also revealed that 69% of these respondents are still willing to share personal data on their buying habits with their banks to alert them of unusual purchases or possible credit card theft. Of those unwilling to share this data, 48% cited concerns around security of data shared as the main rea-son for their unwillingness. This is nothing short of a call to action to the BFSI sector, prompting action at two lev-els. First, secure their digital ecosystem and two, assure customers about the safety of online transactions and the data that they are willing to share, so there are no data security concerns lingering in their minds. By doing so, the BFSI sector can build on the momentum that digital transactions have now garnered, owing to the pandemic and general concerns around personal visits to any service provider's outlets. How Can the Digital Ecosystem be Secured?With the increased usage of internet, connected devices and other such platforms, banks and financial institutions are exposed at multiple levels and the risk of cyberattacks is greater than before. In such a situation, the first step for any organization is to understand their risk exposure and prioritize technology investments accordingly. To facili-tate these conversations with the senior leadership and the WCYBERSECURITY IN BFSI By Sumed Marwaha, Regional Services VP & MD and Seshadri PS, Senior Director - Governance, Risk and Compliance, Office of the CISO, Unisys India
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