Financial Services Data
Storage Needs

Data Security Regulations

Not only does the consumer raise the bar for financial institutions and financial services data storage, but the government does as well. Dodd-Frank regulations impose an even greater demand on major financial institutions, requiring them to take a horizontal view of trading risk. Obtaining these analyses requires the integration of financial data from various silos across the institution from different capture systems, several times a day. Per these regulations, financial institutions are also required to store at least ten years of data. Data must be stored for backup, disaster recovery and archiving, all while keeping redundant copies to a minimum for purposes of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. 

Data security regulations are a crucial aspect of data storage in the financial services industry. These regulations are put in place to protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of data. In this section, we will discuss the key data security regulations that financial institutions must comply with.

1. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA):
The GLBA is a federal law that requires financial institutions to develop and implement privacy policies to protect consumers’ personal information. This includes non-public personal information such as social security numbers, credit scores, and account numbers. The GLBA also mandates financial institutions to have safeguards in place to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of customer data.

2. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX):
The SOX Act was enacted after several high-profile accounting scandals in the early 2000s. It requires public companies, including financial institutions, to maintain accurate and secure financial records for auditing purposes. This includes ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all financial reports and protecting against unauthorized access or alterations.

3. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS):
PCI DSS is a set of security standards established by major credit card companies to protect cardholder data during payment transactions. Financial institutions that process credit card payments must comply with these standards to ensure secure transmission and storage of sensitive cardholder information.

4. Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA):
FISMA is a federal law that sets guidelines for securing government agency systems that handle sensitive data, including those used by financial institutions contracting with the government. FISMA requires these entities to establish an effective risk management program for identifying and mitigating potential cybersecurity threats.

5. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
The GDPR is a European Union regulation that governs how organizations collect, store, process, and share personal data within its borders or from EU citizens regardless of their location. Financial institutions operating within the EU or handling data of EU citizens must comply with GDPR’s strict data privacy and security requirements. 

Nfina’s Hybrid Cloud Solutions 

With rising IT costs, moving your IT infrastructure completely to the public cloud to keep up with industry demands regarding financial data is the least desirable solution. Public cloud solutions are expensive, complex and are less flexible. 

 To help keep costs down, many financial institutions are turning to hybrid cloud and/or cloud storage solutions. Cloud storage is synonymous with outsourcing, which comes with its own set of problems, not to mention security issues. For these reasons, hybrid cloud solutions are a win-win for regional and community banks, credit unions, and financial institutions. These solutions are both efficient and cost-effective and help financial institutions meet the demands of an increasingly challenging industry. 

Nfina’s Hybrid Cloud solutions are the perfect alternative to the public hyperscale cloud, offering more benefits than the public cloud without the cost and complexity. Nfina customers save up to 50% more with Nfina’s hybrid multi-cloud solutions versus public cloud solutions. 

Many regional and community banks and financial institutions spend less on security and DR plan development because they believe it is too expensive and is designed for enterprise level budgets. Fortunately, Nfina Hybrid Cloud solutions are not only more effective, but they are also economical enough to be affordable for businesses of any size and make it simple and easy to safeguard business continuity. Making sure critical data is protected, and accessible is crucial to disaster recovery. Nfina’s Hybrid Cloud solutions allow you to recover your data no matter where it resides, recover on-premises and from the cloud. Nfina-View software provides monitoring on-prem and cloud, failover, rollback, and DR testing. Failover and rollback are simple single click operations and do not require rebuilding and repopulating data. 

Don’t waste your time thinking about how you will recover from a natural disaster or cyberattak. Nfina strengthens your platform with our Hybrid Cloud solution. Business continuity is built-in, allowing our team to deal with any unforeseeable event rapidly keeping your operations up and running. Nfina’s Hybrid Cloud combines on-site virtual machines (VMs) with cluster-to-cluster replication along with off-site storage for backup and disaster recovery. We also include Managed Services that allows your business to off-load IT operations to us or your Nfina MSP Partner, enabling you to focus on your business goals while we deal with the challenges of an optimized IT environment. It’s flexible, we are able to customize a hybrid cloud solution to fit each bank or financial institution’s individual architecture requirements ensuring proper financial security compliance with international, federal, and local laws, industry standards and advisory regulations. 

Data Encryption and Segregation 

For the financial services industry, protecting sensitive and confidential information is of utmost importance. With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated and prevalent, companies in this sector must take necessary steps to ensure data security. Data encryption and segregation are two essential strategies that can help meet the demanding data storage needs of the financial services industry. 
 
Data encryption involves converting plain text into an unreadable code to prevent unauthorized access. It is a crucial process for protecting sensitive information such as personal and financial details of clients, trade secrets, and market insights. In simpler terms, it scrambles data into a complex format that can only be decrypted by authorized parties with a unique key or password. 
 
One of the primary benefits of data encryption is that it provides an additional layer of security for stored data. Even if hackers manage to gain access to the system, they will not be able to read or use the encrypted data without proper authorization. This significantly reduces the risk of potential breaches and protects both clients’ confidential information and businesses’ proprietary data. 
 
Apart from securing stored data, encrypting information during transmission is equally important in the financial services industry. This process ensures that any communication between different systems or networks is protected from interception by unauthorized individuals or devices. For instance, when making online transactions or sharing documents over email, encrypting them can prevent hackers from gaining access to sensitive information. 
 
Another critical aspect of meeting demanding data storage needs in this sector is segregation. Simply put, segregation means dividing different types of data into separate sections based on their sensitivity levels or user roles within an organization. This practice helps limit access to specific datasets only to those who require it for their job roles. 
 
By implementing strict segregation policies, financial institutions can reduce risks associated with insider threats where employees may intentionally misuse sensitive information at their disposal for personal gain or share it with unauthorized individuals outside the company. 

Risk Management and Monitoring 

The first step towards effective risk management is to identify potential risks. This involves conducting a thorough assessment of the current data storage system and identifying any vulnerabilities or weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious actors. This could include outdated hardware or software, inadequate security protocols, or insufficient backup and disaster recovery plans. 
 
Once risks have been identified, it is important to implement appropriate measures to mitigate them. This could involve investing in advanced security solutions such as encryption tools, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. Regular security updates and patches should also be applied to keep systems up-to-date with the latest security protocols. 
 
In addition to implementing preventive measures, continuous monitoring is essential for detecting and responding to any potential threats or breaches. This can involve using advanced monitoring tools that provide real-time alerts for suspicious activities or unauthorized access attempts. Regular audits should also be conducted to ensure compliance with industry regulations and best practices. 
 
Another critical aspect of risk management is having a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place. As the financial services industry relies heavily on reliable access to data, any disruptions can have severe consequences. A disaster recovery plan should outline procedures for quickly recovering from any unexpected events such as natural disasters, cyber attacks, or system failures. 
 
Along with risk management strategies, regular monitoring of data storage systems is crucial for identifying any issues before they escalate into major problems. This can involve tracking performance metrics such as storage capacity utilization rates, response times for accessing data, and system downtime statistics. By closely monitoring these metrics, IT teams can proactively address any issues before they impact business operations. 

System Maintenance and Decommissioning 

Data storage systems are complex infrastructures that require regular maintenance to function at their best. This involves monitoring hardware components, software updates, and security patches. It also includes routine backups and data migration processes to prevent any potential loss of important information. 
 
To keep up with the demanding needs of the financial services industry, organizations must have a proactive approach towards system maintenance. This means identifying potential issues before they occur and taking necessary measures to prevent them. Regular health checks should be performed on all hardware components such as servers, switches, routers, and storage devices. 
 
In addition to hardware maintenance, software updates are crucial for maintaining optimal performance of data storage systems. These updates can include bug fixes or new features that enhance the efficiency of the infrastructure. Organizations should also regularly review security patches provided by vendors to safeguard against cyber threats. 
 
Data backups are another critical aspect of system maintenance in the financial services industry. With large amounts of sensitive data being stored daily, it is vital to have an efficient backup process in place. This ensures that in case of any disaster or system failure, there will be minimal disruption to operations. 

Decommissioning Data Storage Systems:

As technology continues to evolve rapidly in this digital age, organizations may need to decommission old data storage systems from time-to-time for various reasons like upgrading to newer technologies or consolidating infrastructure. 
 
The process of decommissioning involves securely removing all data from the retired equipment while ensuring compliance with regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). A comprehensive plan for transitioning to a new system should be in place to minimize the impact on daily operations. 
 
Proper disposal of decommissioned equipment is also essential. Organizations must ensure that all data is properly wiped and disposed of according to industry standards. This not only prevents any potential data breaches but also promotes sustainability by disposing of electronic waste responsibly. 
 
Maintenance and decommissioning are critical aspects of managing data storage systems in the financial services industry. With proper planning and regular upkeep, organizations can ensure smooth operations while keeping up with technological advancements. By efficiently decommissioning old equipment, companies can stay compliant and environmentally conscious.