Enterprise Information Management (EIM) Solutions and their Role in Safeguarding Data Privacy at your Financial Institution

Data privacy remains a top priority for banking leaders across the globe. According to the 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, the financial services industry was the second most targeted industry for large-scale hacks, accounting for 23% of all reported data breaches. Significant financial loss is also a potential outcome, estimated to cost an institution $5.85 million, as noted by IBM in a Data Breach Report.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a single solution or tactic that will stop a data breach. Both domestic and international data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), were created to help in this fight, although an institution still needs compliant processes and systems to ensure its data is handled properly. 

For sustainable success, banks and credit unions must take a holistic approach to risk mitigation. Included here are best practices, in combination with a content and information management strategy, a data governance and compliance plan, and other safeguards that work in parallel to one another. Without such an approach, institutions may fall victim to an attack that results in financial losses, damages to their reputation, and legal liabilities, to name a few.

If you’re a bank or credit union leader, start by looking at your enterprise content and information management platform, organizational policies, and other compliance guidelines, including:

1. Conducting regular risk assessments: Conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities within systems. This practice can help banks and credit unions amplify their data protection efforts and allocate resources more effectively.
2. Implementing access controls: Access controls ensure that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive account holder data. This can be achieved by using passwords and other security measures based on roles and personas. Additionally, document history can be monitored and maintained across departments and users. 
3. Implementing a data retention policy: Financial institutions should implement a data retention policy that outlines how long data should be stored and when it should be deleted. This policy can help organizations minimize their risk of a data breach by reducing the amount of sensitive data they store.
4. Providing employee training: Institutional security is everyone’s responsibility. Regular staff training should include clear steps on how to identify potential security threats, best practices for data protection, and how to report incidents of suspected data breaches.

Many EIM solutions now offer compliance and regulatory features at every touchpoint in combination with data governance guidelines, as well as throughout a document’s journey. Important organizational information can be shared in an efficient, traceable manner, as well as through secure, self-service channels to ensure your institution keeps up with market demands. This end-to-end approach helps maintain complete control over your institution’s data for a holistic approach to data privacy.

Alogent’s own cloud-ready, browser-based enterprise content and information management suite, FASTdocs, was built with financial institutions in mind. Allowing your bank or credit union to meet industry guidelines and regulations, FASTdocs streamlines manual processes, internal workflows, and increases efficiency through its intelligent automation capabilities. 

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