Banks, insurance companies and investment funds manage vast amounts of sensitive customer personal data, ranging from financial reports and identity documents to transaction records. Privacy is not only a priority, but a requirement in financial services. A data breach can have catastrophic consequences for both the customer and the institution itself. In doing so, we explore how financial institutions shield sensitive data and how FileFactory from EntrD can support them in reducing risk by blurring, masking or document-based blacklining of data.
Our solution? FileFactory! FileFactory helps reduce risk by blurring, masking or blacklining data in documents. More information? Download the brochure below or request a demo.
The importance of privacy in the financial industry
Financial institutions such as ING, ABN AMRO and Rabobank are responsible for protecting the data of millions of customers. These data include:
- Personal Identification Information (PII): Names, addresses, dates of birth and citizen service numbers (BSN).
- Financial data: Bank account numbers, credit information, and transaction details.
- Confidential documents: Contracts, loan agreements, and financial reports.
A data breach can lead not only to financial losses for customers, but also to serious reputational and legal repercussions for the financial institution itself.
The threats of sensitive data
Cyber attacks:
Hackers often target financial institutions because of the high value of the data they manage. A successful hack can result in stolen identities and financial fraud.
Internal threats:
Not all threats come from outside. Employees may, intentionally or unintentionally, leak sensitive data.
Outdated systems:
Many financial institutions struggle with outdated IT systems that are vulnerable to attack and do not meet modern security standards.
Cleaning up sensitive data
Data cleansing is a crucial step in protecting sensitive information. This includes removing or anonymizing outdated, redundant or unnecessarily detailed data. EntrD’s intelligent software FileFactory provides an innovative solution for effectively managing sensitive information within documents and files.
FileFactory from EntrD: a data protection solution
EntrD’s FileFactory is designed to help financial institutions protect sensitive data through advanced technologies such as blurring, masking and blacklining of information in documents to name a few.
- Blurring data: FileFactory can automatically blur sensitive information in documents, making the data unreadable to unauthorized users but still recognizable to authorized users.
- Data masking: This process replaces sensitive data with replacement values that hide the original data. This is especially useful for sharing data within the organization without exposing the full details.
- Blackening of data: FileFactory can completely blacklist sensitive parts of a document, rendering the data permanently unreadable. This is ideal for documents that need to be shared with external parties without revealing confidential information.
How FileFactory can help financial institutions
Let’s look at some specific financial institutions and how they could benefit from FileFactory’s functionalities.
- A banking institution can use FileFactory to blur customer records, keeping sensitive information shielded from unnecessary employees.
- An insurance company: could take advantage of FileFactory’s masking features to create test data for IT development projects without exposing real customer data.
- An investment fund: could take advantage of FileFactory’s blacklisting features when providing financial reports to auditors or regulators, leaving only the necessary information visible.
Also read: Data masking: one of the financial industry’s shields
Practical steps for data protection with FileFactory
- Identify sensitive data: Start by identifying which data should be treated as sensitive. FileFactory can help automatically detect sensitive information within documents.
- Choose the right technique: Determine whether blurring, masking or blacklining is the most appropriate technique for the specific data and usage situation.
- Implement and monitor: Implement FileFactory within the institution’s document management system and regularly monitor the effectiveness of data protection measures.
- Regular training: Make sure employees are aware of the tools and techniques available and why they are important for data protection.
In an era where cyber threats and privacy issues are constantly increasing, financial institutions cannot afford to have weaknesses in their data protection. By using advanced tools such as EntrD’s FileFactory, financial institutions such as ING, ABN AMRO and Rabobank, Aegon, Nationale Nederlanden, Centraal Beheer can effectively protect sensitive data. Blurring, masking and blacklining are crucial techniques for minimizing the impact of a data breach and ensuring customer privacy.
With the right strategies and tools, financial institutions can take their data security to the next level and protect both their own and their customers’ interests.