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Enterprise mobility delivers a host of benefits to the financial services sector. Mobility enables banks, lenders, insurance companies, and other financial service providers to improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs, and enhance productivity.

To deliver on these benefits, however, financial institutions must take into account the unique security risks mobility poses for this highly regulated industry.

A financial services corporate network contains an abundance of sensitive client and market information. An employee connecting to the network via a mobile device invariably puts the organization at risk of a breach, which can result in steep government penalties and fines, as well as a loss of credibility.

Here are four ways to reduce risks with enterprise mobility and financial services:

• Maintain control over the enterprise’s information assets

To guard against data leakage and unauthorized access, the enterprise needs full visibility and control over its sensitive, confidential data.

IT should extend its existing user policies and file sharing permissions to mobile devices, as well as prevent employees from sharing or modifying sensitive information remotely. We also recommend continuously auditing the network to identify and prevent unauthorized access and usage.

• Implement remote wipe capabilities

Remote wipe of lost or stolen devices is a best practice for enterprise mobile security in all industries.

In the financial services sector specifically, IT needs the ability to wipe files containing customer account numbers, PINs, and other personal information, as well as sensitive market information. This measure will mitigate the risk of fraud and identity theft while meeting government regulatory demands and compliance standards.

• Protect sensitive data

Data sent to and from the corporate network must be sufficiently protected. Customer account information, transactional data, client portfolios, and sensitive corporate information must be encrypted in transit and at rest to protect against cyber criminals, unauthorized access, and security breaches.

To ensure the data arrives in the same condition in which it was sent, we recommend setting permissions and settings that prohibit file modification. As malicious third-party applications can manipulate or change files, organizations should also implement a comprehensive application management solution in order to maintain control over which apps can and cannot open files.

• Offer a user-friendly mobile solution

In addition to the above security measures, organizations must make sure their mobile solution is intuitive and user-friendly. If it isn’t, employees may attempt to circumvent the organization’s security policies and access sensitive files using consumer-grade solutions, resulting in a heightened risk for data leakage and unauthorized access. To prevent this, financial service providers need to offer solutions that allow employees to safely, securely, and efficiently access critical files and information.

Learn more about how to manage mobile services.