Most of us prefer the convenience of digital banking to manage our finances without leaving the house.

It goes without saying that essential strategies are needed to bank in the modern world without fear of losing sensitive information through transactions

Here is an overview of the problem and the essentials needed to help construct a safer digital banking situation for everyone.

Why Does Digital Banking Need Cyber Security Measures?

The digital banking sector handles vast amounts of sensitive data, including personal details, account information, and transaction records.

Any breach or compromise can lead to severe financial and reputational damage. Thus, understanding and applying cybersecurity practices is vital for both banks and their customers.

Current Threats To Digital Banking Users

Cyberthreats come in many forms, and staying educated on how to recognize or prevent them is the only way to stay safe when digitally banking. Below are some common threats encountered:

• Unauthorized Access: Weak passwords are the first way someone gains unauthorized access, which can lead to unauthorized spending or full-on identity theft.
• Phishing Scams: Most of us trust the banks to safeguard our information, but some attacks are down to human judgment and prey on the users, such as Phishing scams. The best way to ensure you aren’t deceived by a fake email or message is to scrutinize the contents and verify the senders.
• Malware: Malware, usually works in the form of spyware running undetected on your device within the system, it can capture keystrokes to obtain your credentials or infect your device with malicious downloads. Anti-malware tech can help with prevention.

Security Essentials

Digital banking is increasing in market value. While China sits at the top Singapore is not far behind with a projected market volume of US$5.71bn by 2029.

However, as online banking continues to prevail, the associated cyberthreat risks climb. Singapore registered 32 million digital fraud attacks in 2022, and its current rate is higher than the Asia Pacific Average.

Here’s what you can do to protect your finances online:

• Password strength: Passwords must have a certain level of complexity to make them difficult to crack; they are your first line of defense, so create a unique, strong mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters, using both cases.
• MFA/2FA: After entering a password, multi-factor or two-factor authentication methods will ask for another means to verify that it is you logging in, such as sending a code to a remembered device. This prevents someone who has hacked a password from getting access.
• Updated Software Is Crucial: Security vulnerabilities will be regularly addressed with patches but if you don’t have the latest one, you are left vulnerable to attacks.
• Public WiFi: Public Wi-Fi is not safe enough for banking transactions, a VPN can help secure a public internet connection by encrypting your data.
• Stay Savvy: Unsolicited emails and messages should be treated suspiciously, and websites should be vetted to verify the source. Never share your digital banking information, your bank will not ask via email.

Enhancing Digital Banking With Tech

With a digital world full of threats comes technological solutions to help thwart your would-be attackers, so here are some software essentials to consider when digital banking:

Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Options

Anti-virus software can perform scheduled sweeps of your device to look for viruses and remove them swiftly.
Anti-malware works similarly to detect and remove malicious software such as ransomware. Remember, neither is efficient without regular software updates.

Firewalls

Firewalls work to detect intruders, people trying to gain access that might not be you.
They look for suspicious log-in activity, such as failed access attempts, and block the access if it appears dubious.

Encryption

Encryption encodes the data being transmitted from point a to point b, if someone is able to intercept it, they won’t be able to read it without cracking the encryption encoded.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can provide high levels of encryption and also mask your IP address. Other VPN benefits include; unlocking banking restrictions and securing public network traffic.

Other Digital Banking Practices

Building a safe digital banking environment for yourself requires the following 3 practices:

1. Make sure you download your banking app from a legitimate source.
2. Frequently monitoring your account by checking your statements diligently can help you spot suspicious activity before it’s too late.
3. If you feel compromised, report it immediately so that your bank can respond swiftly.

The Bottom Line

Though convenient without exercising a little caution and taking the necessary steps to protect your sensitive information digital banking is a risky business.

With the threats understood, users can stay ahead of the curve by informing themselves and utilizing security technology to their advantage.

Remember to keep it updated and always practice safe online conduct to proactively secure your information away from those who would rob you of it in a heartbeat.

Featured image credit: freepik