Top Finance: Your Trusted Financial Partner

Risk evaluation is the cornerstone of almost every single financial transaction, from corporate mergers to buying a hot dog on the street (the stakes might be a little lower for the latter). And when it comes to ensuring the safety of your database, security risks are everywhere. Are you doing what you can to avoid them entirely, or are you stuck just hoping that you’ll get lucky? Don’t wait until your luck runs out. If you’re in the financial services industry, Alura is the only choice to make.

We give our clients the resources they need to not only protect their clients’ sensitive information but to work more efficiently than ever before with cutting-edge technology. Your goal is to secure your clients’ financial future; are you spending enough time focusing on your future? Don’t leave your success up in the air. Take the time today to avoid risks, and choose an IT provider that can help you maintain FINRA compliance and more.

SMART AND COST-EFFECTIVE CO-MANAGED IT
SECURITY FOR THE FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR

With cyberattacks regularly targeting the financial services and banking sectors worldwide, Technology Thought Leaders have good reason to fear a data breach. A recent survey of bank directors revealed that 83 percent have concerns about cybersecurity, a significant increase over previous years. Not to mention the increasing burden of regulations from Federal and State regulators, from GLBA and FINRA to GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — a gauntlet indeed!

Many of our clients are working with us to have Pen Testing and Gap Assessments done to identify both their technical and regulatory compliance exposure. This helps their IT leaders bring their firm into compliance with regulations, but also provide a higher bar for ‘Defense-in-Depth’ of their crown jewels — customer data.

While larger firms can afford to spend millions on layered security systems, mid-market and SMB organizations must seek solutions with limited IT expertise and budgets. As a result, these institutions not only face an increased risk of cyberattack, but vulnerability to insider actors and Zero Day attacks, among other threats. An experienced managed security services provider (MSSP) like Alura understands the broad risks as well as the regulatory, cyber, legal, and compliance issues financial services firms like yours must confront.

SECURITY MEETS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Rigorous standards, industry regulations, and government compliance make a significant impact on how financial organizations treat the security of personally identifiable information (PII). These institutions must have methods and procedures in place to identify any unauthorized access to their systems. Key regulations such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX/J-SOX), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and other data privacy laws make auditing and reporting just as critical as protecting monetary assets and sensitive information.

The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) have discussed imposing cybersecurity best practices based on the NIST 800 standard, which includes annual risk assessment, incident management, annual pen testing, log management, review, and retention. Recently, the SEC published new cybersecurity guidelines requiring the prompt and thorough disclosure of all data incidents or breaches.

To proactively respond and mitigate cyber intrusions before they inflict irreparable damage, many organizations now employ Managed Detection and Response (MDR) technology, enabling IT Staff or Security Operations Center (SOC) personnel to take appropriate and immediate action. By providing a comprehensive view across your IT infrastructure, MDR can identify and assist you in understanding advanced threats in real time for enhanced incident response and compliance. Alura has SOC and NOC (Network Ops) teams 24/7 to watch for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) alerts and stop cyber criminals in their tracks.

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CLOUD TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Financial and securities exchanges have complex and unique IT infrastructures that often include virtual desktops and application hosting for secure processing of their clients’ transactions. To keep financial services secure yet competitive, institutions require a robust IT infrastructure that can sustain their growth objectives while operating on limited IT resources. For many smaller institutions, moving data to the cloud provides a scalable solution that can meet compliance requirements while eliminating downtime, improving system performance and institutional efficiency, all without losing performance or compromising security.

Financial services industry IT management and leaders must be mindful of not only the optimal cloud architecture, but also how they will optimize both security and compliance in the cloud so that they do not bring their business in conflict with FINRA, for example. To navigate these challenges, you want someone who has a thorough understanding of these issues when deploying a hybrid cloud infrastructure, which is why financial organizations should engage the services of experts, such as an MSSP.

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Financial firms rely heavily on digital records and applications to conduct their clients’ business transactions. A comprehensive disaster recovery plan not only ensures business continuity, but also protects customers’ sensitive data. In 2015, the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (FFIEC) mandated requirements for banks and financial institutions to have an effective disaster recovery plan in place.

In the fast-paced financial world, time truly is money. When a natural disaster, power outage or cyberattack occurs, downtime and business interruption can cost an institution millions of dollars, not to mention loyal customers. Implementing disaster recovery as a service backs up data and makes it available in the immediate aftermath if the worst happens. The first step to protecting yourself and your clients is to choose the right disaster recovery service partner, one that understands your industry’s unique regulations and compliance.

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First-level resolution of software and hardware issues can play a critical role in the success and profitability of your financial business — not to mention overall customer satisfaction. A U.S.-based help desk that is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week will keep your assets at work, allowing you to maintain effective employee personnel and happy customers. The Alura’s staff is a team of highly trained, certified professionals who are knowledgeable and experienced at handling all of the challenges unique to the financial industry.

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Identify, Monitor, Report

KEEP YOUR SENSITIVE INFORMATION SAFE

When you work with Alura, you’re getting more than an IT provider. You get a partner that’s as dedicated to your long-term success as anyone in your own company. With customized IT solutions designed to fit seamlessly within your framework and workflow, there’s no one better to collaborate with moving forward.

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