Fraud and Data Protection is a Process Not a Software Program-Part 4

It is imperative for companies and institutions to take the next step in data and fraud protection. Every day articles are written about data being lost and identity theft taking place. If a company or organization has their system compromised only then do they begin to strengthen their procedures to make sure this does not happen again. Unfortunately, reports show that there are a number of companies that took what they thought were enough steps to stop future data intrusions from happening but had more intrusions that resulted in more data being stolen, even after new procedures were put in place.

Systems need to be protected from not only the outside threats but inside mistakes. Protection for the company or institution is a lower priority than providing the necessary personal and funding to develop and promote the core of the business the company is in. Attempting to develop a quick fix after your company has been attacked or data lost only serves to show that protecting a customers’ information was not the priority it should have been.

Consideration should be given to utilizing a multi-level and multi-dimensional system that also utilizes an automated secondary system for anomalies. The secondary system should allow for unrecognized transactions for that company or person. This new type of system would give increased advantages in stopping fraudulent transactions over the standard fraud system. This type of system could also better serve to protection multiple types of companies and individuals as well as recognizing the good customer from even the most sophisticate thief attempting theft.

Data protection methods vary by company or organization but I would recommend a daily high level review and a weekly lower level review as well as a full review every two to four weeks. PCI guidelines recommend that reviews or audits be done quarterly but with the number of data breaches reported happening worldwide companies should consider more frequent system reviews. Proper automated review could save a company from breaches that can be costly on many different levels.

Part 5 Tomorrow.

Al Cameron

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