Financial institutions are among the top targets for data thieves and cyber-attacks. With enormous amounts of sensitive data to protect, the consequences of a data leak and the loss of unprotected data can be catastrophic for financial organizations and their customers.

Securing data with an encryption solution retains customer confidence and ensures that financial institutions comply with national and international industry directives. Organizations also need to establish security protocols that are easy-to-use and do not interfere with customer service, communication, or other business requirements.

As one of the most regulated industries in the world, the Finance Sector deals with large amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as names, addresses, social security numbers as well as more sensitive data, including income details, credit scores, and Non-public Personal Information (NPI).

Most financial institutions are required to:

• Ensure customer information is held securely and confidentially.
• Protect this information from any anticipated threats.
• Protect this information from any unauthorized access.

This is the type of information that should be protected with encryption software in the financial sector:

• Any sensitive information that the customer provides, including names, addresses, income, and social security numbers.
• Any information received about an individual when a transaction takes place between the individual and the financial service provider. This includes information such as account numbers, payment history, loan or deposit balances, and credit card purchases.

Industry tested encryption algorithms should be employed by financial institutions. Encryption technology with long key lengths is essential. An example of an industry-tested, FIPS-compliant encryption standard is AES 256-bit—the same encryption standard used by the Military and Government sectors.

ENCRYPTION FOR DATA AT REST

This means adding encryption to the data before storing it in a database, a cloud storage, a server, etc. It is considered one of the most secure ways to protect data and allows access controls, time-stamping as well as other security parameters to be set up.

This also applies to any sensitive information that is stored on portable devices such as laptops and smartphones. These portable devices should also have their hard drives encrypted, including all external hard drives.

ENCRYPTION FOR DATA IN MOTION

With the increased use of mobile devices to do their banking, customers and businesses alike need a secure way to communicate. Ensuring that all emails, text messages, apps, and websites are securely encrypted end-to-end is a must for the finance sector.

This way, any data that is being shared is protected while it is in transit, meaning that it cannot be intercepted or read while it is on route to its final destination.

Encryption keys are the way to unlock and read all of that encrypted data that has been stored or shared. How these keys are managed is just as important as the sensitive data itself.

Losing an encryption key means losing access to the data. The importance of retaining control over who has access and holds the keys to the data is crucial. The Finance Sector stores some of the most sensitive data there is, and there are strict controls over data storage and sharing.

Financial institutions need to stop a data leak before it even begins. Every day, they move sensitive data across the globe and at the speed of light, navigating multiple IT infrastructures and storing sensitive information in multiple repositories. One relatively small security breach can cause a huge deal of damage.

WinRAR uses AES 256-bit encryption, the industry standard and FIPS-compliant encryption technology. Simply set your RAR archives and files with a password, and WinRAR will not only encrypt the archive but all of the metadata too. This is perfect for sending data across servers, emailing, and for storing important data in the cloud.

With WinRAR, admin rights can be established to take control of encryption keys and to protect files from unwanted viewing. With data and time stamps, administrators have full control over when and by whom sensitive data is viewed.

WinRAR’s built-in Password Manager also helps with control of encryption keys and the many passwords that organizations need to use to keep data protected.

With over 25 years of experience and a dedicated Sales & Support Team, WinRAR is the ultimate software for Financial Institutions. Out-of-the-box and easy to use, WinRAR can do everything that organizations need to stay compliant with privacy regulations such as the GDPR and CCPA.