How Secure Is Your Money’s Digital Footprint? 3 Critical Financial Security Solutions Every Business Needs. In today’s Financial Services industry, the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data are non-negotiable.
As you store and process financial data records, customer transaction histories, sensitive PII, and credit details, the threat landscape only becomes more aggressive. That’s why financial data security isn’t just IT’s concern; it underpins trust, regulatory compliance, and your reputation.
In this post, I’ll outline three security solutions to keep financial data safe, provide practical tips for maintaining financial data safety, and discuss best practices for data security to protect financial information and manage financial data risks.
Below are three powerful security solutions, each accompanied by a brief description and further guidance on how to implement them in your specific context.
Improve Endpoint Security to Protect Financial Data
What is it: Ensuring that every device that accesses your systems—laptops, mobile phones, tablets, point-of-sale devices—adheres to strict security standards. Endpoint security means controlling and monitoring devices to prevent unauthorized access, malware intrusions, and data leakage.
Why it matters for financial data security & the financial services industry
- According to Kaspersky’s 2024 IT Security Economics report, “Endpoint Security” is now one of the few security technologies adopted by 100% of organizations across all sizes.
- Many breaches begin with a compromised endpoint (e.g., phishing on user devices), leading to exposure of financial data records.
Best practices and tips for financial data safety at the endpoint
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enforce MFA for all users, especially for remote access and admin privileges.
- Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Deploy modern EDR tools that can detect anomalous behaviors in real-time (fileless attacks, privilege escalations).
- Regular Patch and Update Management: Keep operating systems, firmware, and applications up to date—missing patches are among the leading causes of ransomware in financial institutions.
- Device Hardening & Least Privilege: Limit permissions, disable unnecessary services, use secure boot, encrypt disk storage, and enforce strong password/pin policies.
- Mobile Device Management (MDM): If staff use mobile devices or remote access, use MDM or Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) to enforce policies, remote wipe, and manage apps.
- User Training & Awareness: Even with all the tech, human error is still a major risk (e.g., phishing, social engineering). Build regular training programs to ensure staff understand how to protect financial information.
Migrate to the Cloud (Securely) to Scale Financial Security Solutions
What is it: Moving some or all of your data, services, and applications to cloud providers (public, private, or hybrid), using cloud-native or cloud-enabled architectures in a secure, well-configured manner.
Why cloud migration, when done right, is a strong ally for protecting financial data and managing financial data risks
- In the S. financial sector, adoption of public cloud services has grown rapidly; many institutions cite enhanced security and resilience as reasons for cloud adoption.
- However, the cloud also introduces risk: misconfigurations, lack of visibility, and weak identity/access management remain among the top causes of cloud-based breaches. For example, over 45% of data breaches are cloud-based per recent cloud security stats.
How to migrate securely & protect financial information with the cloud
- Choose the Right Model (Public, Private, Hybrid): Decide based on risk profile, regulatory requirements, and budget. For some sensitive data, a private cloud or a hybrid might give more control.
- Shared Responsibility Model: Understand which security controls your cloud provider manages vs what you must manage.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM): Enforce least privilege, role-based access control (RBAC), just-in-time access, and strong authentication.
- Encrypt Data In Transit & At Rest: Use strong encryption standards. Encrypt financial data records both when stored and while moving across networks.
- Continuous Monitoring & Configuration Management: Use tools to audit cloud configurations, detect drift, misconfigurations, and exposure of credentials.
- Backup & Disaster Recovery Plans: Even with the cloud, you need redundancy, backups, and tested recovery processes.
- Ensure Compliance & Data Residency: Financial institutions often face regulatory hurdles (GDPR, CCPA, PCI DSS, etc.). Ensure cloud systems support compliance.
Take Advantage of Microsoft-Funded Workshops (or Equivalent Vendor & Partner Training)
What is it: Leverage workshops, training programs, and resources funded by established vendors (like Microsoft) to build internal capabilities, learn best practices, and strengthen organizational policies around data protection and financial security solutions.
Why this matters for protecting financial information and ensuring best practices for data security
- According to several reports in 2024, while many financial organizations increase their cybersecurity spend, confidence in handling emerging threats remains low. In McKinsey’s 2023 Cybersecurity in Financial Services report, only 31% of financial organizations feel confident in their ability to meet emerging cybersecurity challenges, but still need to prove their security readiness to avoid incidents.
- There is a gap not just in tools, but in human processes: awareness, incident response readiness, policy implementation, etc.
How to use Microsoft-Funded Workshops (or similar) to your benefit
- Identify relevant programs: Microsoft, AWS, Google, and other vendors often run workshops on cloud security, zero-trust architectures, secure coding, threat modeling etc.
- Engage key stakeholders: Bring in finance leadership, operations, IT, and compliance teams; ensure alignment across departments.
- Hands-On Learning: Workshops that offer labs, real-world scenarios, and simulations are more effective than pure lectures.
- Policy Development & Documentation: Use the learnings to define or refine security policies (endpoint security policy, cloud usage policy, etc.).
- Ongoing Training & Refreshers: Threats evolve; schedule regular sessions, updates, and refresher courses.
- Measure & Audit Improvements: After training/workshops, conduct internal audits, assessments to see whether policies are being followed, endpoints are secure, cloud configurations improved, etc.
“Best Practices” Checklist: Combining the Solutions
To integrate all three security solutions and maximize protection of financial data records, here are some best practices:
|
Practice |
Description |
|
Zero Trust Architecture |
Assume breach; verify every access; minimize trust zones. |
| Data Encryption Everywhere |
Encrypt data in transit and at rest; use strong key management. |
|
Regular Risk Assessments |
Identify vulnerabilities (in devices, cloud, human processes) before they’re exploited. |
| Incident Response Plan |
Established, tested plan with defined roles, communication, and regulatory steps. |
|
Vendor & Third-Party Security |
Ensure vendors meet security standards; oversee third-party risk. |
| Regulatory Compliance |
Stay current on relevant laws/regulations in your jurisdiction and industry. |
|
Logs, Monitoring & Alerting |
Real-time monitoring, good log data, meaningful alerts, and quick response. |
| Budgeting & Resource Allocation |
Allocate enough budget/staff to security—not as “nice to have” but necessary. |
Conclusion
Protecting financial data is no longer optional—it’s mission-critical. Whether you are safeguarding customer transaction records, maintaining financial security solutions for compliance, or simply aiming to avoid costly data breaches, implementing strong endpoint security, migrating safely to the cloud, and equipping your teams via Microsoft-funded (or vendor) workshops will move you from a reactive to a proactive posture.
If your organization is evaluating ERP investments or enhancing its security posture, you don’t need to go it alone. For expert guidance and deployment around financial data security, Folio3 Azure Team can help you architect solutions, conduct readiness workshops, and ensure your financial data records are protected end-to-end. Contact them today to get started.
