Batten down the hatches. Fill the moat. Close the drawbridge. These are old concepts but relevant just the same in the digital age. With cybersecurity moving to the forefront of corporate concerns, there's a lot that end-users can do to help prevent a debacle from occurring within their organization. At times, it seems like this is an IT problem to solve, however, there are a multitude of steps that can be taken by end-users.
First, look within your mission critical applications and take advantage of all the security capabilities inherent in the product. Do your systems provide permissions and settings for individual users at a very granular level? Good systems have separate write, update, delete and view database permissions. Don't be lazy. It's essential to set up a tight security profile that gives users just enough latitude to get their jobs done AND keep them and your business out of trouble. Secure user controls by saving role profiles as master settings that new users with the same functional responsibilities can inherit in the future.
Second, lock down your business processes. Apply "4-eyes" approval workflows to virtually everything. Hopefully your system is flexible enough to set up flexible authorizations based on thresholds and filters. For example, payment outliers above a certain amount or in "unusual" currencies should be automatically flagged and subject to additional approvals.
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Third, reexamine all of the spreadsheets you use and try to integrate their functionality into your enterprise system. Do you still use spreadsheets to manage collateral and margin? Are you running macros to perform complex performance measurement benchmarks? Spreadsheets provide tremendous opportunities for bad outcomes. They're not secure, tend to be shared and replicated, contain confidential information and complex formulas with potential errors that are not vetted in the same manner as enterprise applications, and they tend to lack documentation.
Fourth, take a critical look at your entire operation. Vulnerabilities abound that you may not have considered. What artifacts (log files, back up files, payments messages, reports) are left behind which contain critical information? Are they encrypted? Can they be eliminated? Can they be stored in a more secure location? Is access permissioned?
Fifth, how secure is your payments ecosystem? A rogue or missed payment can have a huge impact on reputational risk. SWIFT has issued a protocol that its members will need to subscribe to starting in 2018. Has your organization reviewed the changes and started addressing their implementation? If you use a bank portal or TMS, take advantage of every security protocol they offer ("4-eye" approvals, repetitive and semi-repetitive templates, encryption, etc.).
Sixth, do you have the system capabilities in place to create centers of excellence for your key business processes? Can you mitigate the risks of dispersed, non-centralized responsibilities? For example, do you have a handle on global bank statements? Can you detect a rogue payment in near-real time and prevent additional damage? Is there a secure golden copy of your reference data, parties, and bank account information locked down in a tightly permissioned central repository?
As you can see, cybersecurity goes beyond just firewalls and encryption devices. It's up to all of us to help protect ourselves and our companies from nefarious actors as well as manual operational errors. So batten down the hatches, fill the moat and close the drawbridge on these security issues by examining all your vulnerabilities, from simple spreadsheets to complex business processes. Email us at [email protected] if you'd like some help.
Jerald Seti VP Product Management Openlink
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