Using Network Monitoring to Ensure Security and Compliance in the Financial Sector

Financial institutions rely on their digital infrastructure to conduct various financial transactions and provide services to their customers. It is important to ensure their network is secure with network monitoring tools to keep it reliable and functioning as planned to meet their specific needs. 

Strong network security is a must-have for financial institutions so that performance and access in today’s network architecture can be robust and comprehensive, so that operations remain smooth. Check out the importance of network monitoring in the financial sector below!

Being Proactive is Important in the Financial Sector

The cost savings associated with ongoing network assessment and validation in financial institutions alone are significant. By proactively identifying and addressing potential network issues, companies can prevent network downtime and improve network performance and security, ultimately saving money in the long run. 

Some examples of fixed costs associated with operational events and network security are staggering. In larger financial institutions, the cost of network failures and downtime can exceed $1 million or about Rp 16 billion per hour! Of course, this will impact on various things such as loss of business, productivity efficiency, loss of customer confidence, and the cost to fix the problem. 

Security breaches also cause material problems and damage to the company’s reputation. The cost of addressing these breaches is expected to be even higher in the future. As such, networks in financial institutions need to be monitored to ensure they are always in compliance with applicable policies.

Reasons to Proactively Assess and Validate with Network Monitoring

If a financial institution can avoid just one incident, the ROI of a robust and proactive testing and assessment strategy can be achieved almost immediately. Here are some of the reasons network monitoring is necessary in the financial sector:

1. Avoiding Cyber Threats

Like it or not, cyber threats are on the rise and highly important companies around the world are often prime targets because of the sensitive data they hold. Cyber threats include phishing attacks, malware, exploits, and ransomware. 

Assessing network infrastructure can help financial institutions to identify vulnerabilities and develop appropriate measures to protect against cyber threats before they occur on the network. That way, the network will be more secure.

2. Maintain Business Continuity

Financial institutions must ensure their network infrastructure can withstand unexpected events such as system failures or cyber attacks. Network infrastructure assessments help companies identify potential weaknesses and develop disaster recovery plans to minimize disruption of their services and ensure business continuity. 

3. Protecting Sensitive Information

All financial institutions handle sensitive customer information, such as financial transactions and personal details, on a daily basis. Security breaches can result in financial losses, reputational damage and legal consequences. 

Regular testing of a financial institution’s network infrastructure is essential to identify vulnerabilities and potential security breaches that could compromise customer information. 

4. Reduce Downtime

Network downtime, even briefly, can result in huge revenue losses, depending on the severity of the disruption. By proactively identifying and addressing potential network issues, financial institutions can minimize the risk of downtime and save money in the form of lost revenue and possibly lost customer confidence. 

5. Reduce Remediation Costs

In the event of a security breach or network disruption. remediation costs can be significant. By proactively testing and addressing potential issues, financial institutions can reduce remediation costs and minimize the damage caused by a security breach or network disruption. 

6. Moves, Additions, and Changes

Large financial institutions continue to expand their network infrastructure, both on-premises and as part of a migration to cloud services. It is critical to understand how the network affects application transaction times (latency), Quality of Experience (QoE), and the success of security policies. 

To understand the above points, networks need comprehensive visibility that can be validated proactively. Reactive assessments generated after problems arise are less helpful. 

7. Network Performance Improvement

A poorly performing network can affect the speed and efficiency of financial transactions, resulting in frustrated customers and lost revenue. By testing and optimizing the network, financial institutions can improve network performance, reduce transaction times, and ultimately save the company money. 

8. Maintain Regulatory Compliance

Financial institutions must abide by the requirements that come standard in their country. Failure to meet these regulations may result in the company having to pay a number of fines. Many regulatory bodies require banks to adhere to certain security and compliance standards. 

By proactively validating and addressing potential security vulnerabilities, companies can ensure compliance and avoid hefty fines and penalties. Network monitoring can help financial institutions stay compliant with regulations and ultimately keep operations running smoothly and companies saving money. 

9. Increase Customer Trust

Every customer expects the financial institutions they trust to keep their information secure. Any security breach that occurs in a financial institution risks damaging customer trust as well as the company’s reputation. No customer wants their personal information to be shared with third parties and their daily lives to be disrupted because of this leaked info. 

Therefore, periodic validation of network infrastructure security can assure customers that their information remains safe and secure. There will be no information leaked, let alone customers having to be contacted by many unknown parties that are very annoying. Maintaining this credibility is essential for customers to continue using the financial institution’s services. 

10. Implement Automated Testing

Not all tests can be done just once, some even have to be done regularly. A robust assessment strategy may require testing hundreds of device elements or large laboratory environments or digital twin environments. 

By utilizing an automation approach, more can be accomplished with less labor, equipment, and power requirements. Ultimately, this will lead to significant cost savings for the company. The automated testing offered by network monitoring tools is essential for maintaining the security and smooth running of a financial institution’s network. Financial institutions hold highly sensitive information. In addition, it must also ensure compliance with applicable regulations. To make this happen, a reliable network monitoring tool is needed, such as Netmonk. This network monitoring solution has been trusted by more than 1000 companies in Indonesia, find out the full service info on the Netmonk web now!