SWIFT Assessment Security Services
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) facilitates secure massaging services and transmission of financial details across numerous financial institutions globally. Owing to the rising cybercrimes targeting financial institutions, SWIFT has developed a wide range of services and programs that curb security breaches, ensure that global financial system are compliant with the laid out programs and highly secure. SWIFT became more vigilant after cybercriminals gained unauthorized access to the SWIFT terminal belonging to Central Bank of Bangladesh and made away with a whopping 81 billion in 2016. Though this is dubbed the epitome of cybercrimes facing the financial and insurance industries, cyber security continues to be a critical challenge requiring exclusive attention from all industry players and stakeholders.
SWIFT designed the Customer Security Program with the aim of combating cybercrimes and frauds targeting financial institutions. As such, it is mandatory for all SWIFT customers to evaluate their financial networks and systems against 16 mandatory controls defined under the Customer Security Program. Additionally, all SWIFT customers are required to file annual reports confirming that they remain compliant with the 16 controls. Lately, SWIFT has embarked on inspection of customer banking environments to ensure that they uphold the cyber security guidelines as per the Customer Security Control Framework. Non-compliant customers are immediately reported to their relevant authorities and supervisors for disciplinary action. Undersuch circumstances, financial institutions have no option but to opt for reliable SWIFT assessment security services as a measure to ensure that they always remain complaint.
The SWIFT CSCF requires financial organizations to implement system access controls, set and enforce precise roles and responsibilities for the administrative employees. All security tools must be securely implemented and have specific users. Additionally, all customers will access each other’s SWIFT compliance reports to facilitate assess of the risks posed by counterparts whom they transact with.
SWIFT assessment security services are offered as per the control framework defined by SWIFT. The services entail analysis of local financial institution’s environment against the 16 mandatory controls laid down by the SWIFT Customer Security Control Framework to identify cyber security gaps and apply appropriate security measures. The services also include remediation to ensure that identified cyber security loopholes are sealed and certify that the banking system is highly secure in a manner that bars cyber criminals from penetrating the SWIFT system. An attestation is issued to denote that the financial institution can submit to SWIFT and demonstrate its complete compliance.
Summary
As the world embraces digital connections, financial and banking institutions handling cross-border transactions cannot overlook the importance of effective cyber security measures. Notably, SWIFT maintains that industry security should be a shared responsibility but all customers have the responsibility to ensure their systems are secure from cybercrimes. Banks and financial institutions must up the ante to uphold optimal cyber security. Therefore, they should not disregard the importance of SWIFT assessment security services.