Finance departments are often overlooked within organisations as they are seen as established mature areas of the business.  The reality is that they are prime targets of financial gain from hackers and cyber criminals.  How to improve the security and defend from threats?

Firstly, use strong access controls, authentication and authorization processes to control access to financial systems and sensitive data. Multi-factor authentication, known as MFA, is essential. Perform regular reviews and update user access privileges to ensure they align each job roles and responsibilities, especially people who leave or move within the business and prevents having employees with excessive permissions to systems.

Create a secure Network Architecture, this means maintaining a secure network infrastructure that includes firewalls, detection and prevention solutions.  Break up or segment the network based upon business function, if there is unauthorised access this limits and slows down complete compromise. Only use secure protocols, such as HTTPS and VPNs, so that network traffic is always encrypted, and confidentiality of data is maintained.

Keep all servers, workstations, and software applications up to date with the latest security patches and updates. Use a patch management process to ensure timely updates of patches to address and fix known vulnerabilities.

Encrypt all sensitive data at rest, use strong encryption to protect all financial information.  To maintain confidentiality of data even when systems are not in use or powered off.

Use workstation and server protection solutions, such as anti-malware and anti-virus software, host-based intrusion detection systems, and data loss prevention (DLP) tools, to protect and detect systems that are subject to malicious activities and data breaches.  This can be expensive, so prioritise the most important data and systems first.

Perform regular security assessments to identify vulnerabilities and potential weaknesses in systems and processes. Perform vulnerability scanning to identify and address security gaps before they become a problem or security incident.  Perform penetration testing of the most critical systems and applications, use a third party to do this is the skills are not available in house.

Implement continuous monitoring and detection management to detect and respond to security incidents. Use security information and event management (SIEM) systems to collect and analyse logs from various systems and applications for detection of suspicious activities.

Educate staff with security awareness, including phishing, social engineering, and other common cyber threats targeting the financial sector. Teach employees how to use and maintain strong passwords and awareness of security best practices.

Develop, maintain and test incident response plans to effectively respond to security incidents. Regularly review and update the plan based on lessons learned from past incidents.

Know and comply with relevant financial industry laws and regulations, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and any specific regulations applicable to your geographic region. Stay informed as the law changes over time.

Use trusted and vetted vendors who follow strong security practices. Perform due diligence when selecting third-party providers prior to purchase, and ensure they meet your security requirements to at least the same standard as your own organisation.

Implement regular and secure data backups to ensure data availability and recovery in the event of a security incident, system failure or data loss such as a ransomware attack.