‘Proactive’ action needed from banks versus financial crimes

LOCAL BANKS need to be proactive in protecting the data of its clients as identity theft is the top security concern of Filipinos, global information technology firm Unisys Corp. said.

According to the latest 2018 Unisys Security Index, identity theft was the top security concern in the country as 88% of the Filipinos surveyed are “extremely or very concerned” about unauthorized misuse or access of their personal information.

Aside from identity theft, natural disaster or epidemic (87%) as well as bank card fraud (86%) were also the top security concern among Filipinos.

Ian Selbie, Unisys Asia-Pacific Solutions Director on Financial Services, said domestic lenders need to be “proactive” in shielding sensitive information from potential breaches or theft as they need to maintain the trust of their customers.

“[The security index] shows that banks needed to be very careful in taking care of their customers’ data, which I think they are. They also need to make sure to educate their customers continuously on how to protect themselves,” Mr. Selbie told Business World following a briefing on the report last week.

To be extra vigilant in protecting data, Mr. Selbie said lenders must employ systems to shield themselves from breaches and enable them to scour the dark Web for sensitive information from other sources.

“I’m not saying the data came from the banks. It could have come from any source, but it’s out there. And banks can do something, find out and take action as a result of that,” Mr. Selbie said.

He also noted that lenders must look into their clients’ suspicious or unusual transaction patterns that may be an indication of a data breach or a fraud attempt.

It is equally important that financial firms educate their clients on how to protect themselves from data breaches such as phising and call center fraud, Mr. Selbie added.

The central bank recently issued guidelines requiring banks and other regulated financial institutions to report cybersecurity breaches within two hours of the attack from the previous 10 days, allowing the monetary authority to monitor the situation and take supervisory actions if warranted.

Respondents for the security index survey, which was conducted from Aug. 13 to Sept. 3, were 1,004 Filipinos aged 18-65.

Aside from the Philippines, the study was also conducted in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, UK, and US.

Among the 13 countries surveyed, Philippine consumers reported the highest level of concern about security at 232 points on a scale of 0 to 300. However, the country’s index fell 11 points since 2017, with decreases across all areas of security issues such as national, financial, internet and personal concerns.

The study also showed that Filipinos are more comfortable using digital identification systems of government institutions than those of financial firms. —