Improve resilience for financial services data

Banks increasingly rely on technology to deliver seamless services to their customers. However, this reliance also makes them vulnerable to outages and cyberattacks, which can have devastating consequences. From financial losses to reputational damage, the impact of such disruptions can be severe. We don’t have to think too far back to remember the TSB outage due to a failed IT migration in 2018 and the fine levied by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority of about £48 million for operational resilience failings.

As a result of a recent incident, the Treasury Committee in the UK is now asking banks and financial institutions to confirm that they are prepared and are actively ensuring resilience and providing the level of service that their customers need. These questions, which are similar to ones that would be asked by regulators in the EU in compliance with DORA, include:

• Can you provide the Committee with an overview of the number of instances and amount of time in total (in hours) “the bank’s” services have been unavailable to customers? Due to IT failure over the last two years, by channel (e.g., app, web, branch, ATM, cards)?
• The number of customers that have been affected by each of those outages.
• A description of the reason for those failures.

Whether caused by technical glitches or cyberattacks, disruptions can have severe financial, operational, and reputational consequences that can negatively impact wallet share and market share. However, with the right technology and strategies, these risks can be mitigated or eliminated. NetApp’s comprehensive suite of solutions empowers financial institutions to protect their data, maintain business continuity, and retain customer trust. By investing in a resilient infrastructure and proactive security measures, banks can safeguard their operations and thrive in an increasingly digital landscape.

Resilience can be looked at through two different lenses: cyber resilience and operational resilience. Cyber resilience focuses on the ability to recover from a cyberattack. Operational resilience focuses on the ability to maintain business continuity after disruptions such as technical failure, natural disaster, or human error.

Outages and cyberattacks can halt transactions, disrupt trading, and prevent customers from accessing their accounts. A single hour of downtime can cost a bank up to US$6.48M (Statista). A breach or prolonged outage can erode trust and damage a bank’s reputation, making it difficult to attract new customers. Outages can also drive existing customers to switch to competitors.

Because financial institutions are subject to strict regulations (such as DORA, GDPR, PCI DSS), a cyberattack or outage that compromises customer data can result in hefty fines and long, costly legal consequences. Outages can also cripple internal operations, delaying critical processes like fraud detection, loan approvals, payroll, compliance reporting, and transaction processing.

NetApp offers the most secure storage on the planet, with robust solutions designed to enhance resilience, maintain data availability, and protect against cyberthreats. From cyber resilience to operational resilience, NetApp has you covered.

• Built-in security and cyber resilience. NetApp^® ONTAP^® data management software includes built-in security features like encryption, ransomware detection, and rapid recovery capabilities. SnapLock^® technology means that critical data cannot be tampered with or deleted, even by malicious actors.
• Intelligent threat prevention. NetApp’s powerful AI technology identifies potential attacks in real time with 99% accuracy, enabling you to act swiftly to secure a safe recovery point. NetApp provides real-time file and user behavior anomaly monitoring, with alerting and investigation of attacks. Our solutions enable simulated attacks and recovery with readiness drills, helping to validate the crucial processes that are in place to detect and quickly recover from attacks.

• High availability and disaster recovery. NetApp MetroCluster^® software provides continuous availability and seamless failover, so that critical systems can maintain operations even during a hardware failure, technical glitch, or outage. Disaster recovery plans powered by NetApp enable banks to quickly restore services and minimize downtime.
• Cloud integration for scalability and flexibility. NetApp hybrid cloud solutions enable banks to leverage the scalability and flexibility of the cloud while maintaining control over their data. Cloud-based disaster recovery means that data is accessible from anywhere, reducing the risk of localized outages.
• Data protection and backup. NetApp SnapMirror^® and SnapVault^® technologies provide efficient, reliable data replication and backup, so that critical data is always available, even in the event of a disruption. Automated backup processes minimize the risk of human error and help maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Proactive monitoring and analytics. NetApp Active IQ^® solution/digital advisor uses AI-driven analytics to monitor systems, predict potential issues, and recommend proactive measures to prevent outages. Real-time insights help IT teams identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

What happened in the past can’t be changed. Going forward, NetApp is here as the last line of defense for your data to help you minimize or even negate the need to answer questions from regulatory bodies in the future.

Is your bank prepared to handle the next outage or cyberattack? NetApp solutions can help you build a more resilient and secure future.