The recent pandemic has seen people around the world more widely embrace the innovative financial technology (‘FinTech’) that has been developed by start-ups and challenger banks, particularly when it comes to using mobile apps to manage finances and pay for goods. This has particularly been the case in the developing world and outside of what have traditionally been the major hubs of technological and financial development – San Francisco, New York, and London.

However, this comes at a time that some have dubbed the ‘age of the cyber-attack’. The quantity and quality of digital crimes has increased massively during the last few years, accelerated by the number of people out of jobs because of the pandemic and the number of ‘digital debutantes’ who are using digital technology for the first time and who may not be aware of security best practice. Despite the very strong security systems and billions of dollars of investment in security by major banks, they are still targets for attacks, some of which are successful. Consequentially, the finance industry increased security spending by 15%, a figure they fully expect to rise, with the possibility of the total costs of cybercrime total over $1 trillion annually, or 1% of global GDP.

Strong encryption technologies are the backbone of the financial industry’s defences. They ensure that even if data is breached it will be useless to cybercriminals and that data that is transmitted from mobile devices to banks, such as card details, cannot be intercepted. However, the technology to deploy high-level encryption is costly and the expertise to use it correctly is highly sought-after, especially during a major skills shortage in the cybersecurity industry.

Cloud-based technology can bridge the gap

The cost of strong encryption technology and lack of experience using it is a particular problem for companies in emerging economies, or even those outside of the small number of global tech and finance hubs. The expertise to deploy cryptographic security is already rare, and people with the skills to secure payments and deal with the complex compliance issues around them know that they can make more money in major financial hubs than they can in their home countries.

The solution may be to use cloud-based technology rather than take on the expense and responsibility for a self-hosted or co-located data centre with Payment Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). Cloud technology has clear advantages for FinTechs: it can be deployed quickly without the need for new hardware, it scales to meet surges in demand, backs up all of a company’s data and can often be paid for monthly rather than as a single expensive purchase. The other main advantage of cloud-based services is that they allow smaller companies to deploy the same level of security and compliance that is used by much larger companies at a fraction of the price.

While it is true that payment HSMs deployed in data centres will give a company maximum protection through, for example, encrypting card present transactions including customer sensitive data such as PINs and CVV validation for card-not-present transactions – they can be costly and require specific expertise to manage, presenting a real barrier to entry for FinTechs.

Cloud-based services on the other hand allow much smaller companies to deploy encryption, PCI standards and tier-one payment security, all handled by experts via a fully managed service. This means that start-ups can focus on their core business knowing that security and compliance is taken care of, which in today’s cybersecurity climate will be a major relief for the company and their customers.

To learn more, visit: www.myhsm.com/webinar-breaking-down-the-barriers-to-cloud-based-payments-solutions/

 

About MYHSM

MYHSM, is part of Utimaco’s IT security solutions and offers Payment Hardware Security Modules (HSM) as a Service, delivering a secure, versatile, and scalable hosted payment solution in the cloud. MYHSM is the first multi-vendor Payment HSMs service provider, offering secure and highly available host connections to two of the world’s leading HSMs manufactures – Utimaco Atalla AT1000 and Thales payShield 10K. The MYHSM service is compatible with all major payment applications, is multi-cloud and provides a unique and globally accessible service offering to the whole payment ecosystem. MYHSM’s fully managed, PCI PIN certified services alleviates the need for investment in hardware, secure facilities, management, and ongoing PCI compliance, audit and support.

To find out more about MYHSM, visit: https://myhsm.com/payment-hsm/

About UTIMACO

UTIMACO is a global platform provider of trusted Cybersecurity and Compliance solutions and services with headquarters in Aachen (Germany) and Campbell, CA (USA). UTIMACO develops on-premises and cloud-based hardware security modules and key management solutions as well as compliance solutions for telecommunication providers in the field of regulation. UTIMACO is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in both of these market segments.

470+ employees around the globe create innovative solutions and services to protect data, identities and communication networks with responsibility for global customers and citizens. Customers and partners in many different industries value the reliability and long-term investment security of UTIMACO’s high-security products and solutions. Find out more on www.utimaco.com.

 

About the author

Eyal Worthalter is Vice President – Global Solution Sales at MYHSM by Utimaco where he works to drive new business for MYHSM’s Payment HSMs as a Service. As a sales leader in enterprise technology, Eyal likes to encourage his team to look at things differently and helps to connect the dots to drive innovation and solve customer challenges.

With over 12 years of experience in client management, growing teams, and sales, he enjoys working cross-functionally to create an enterprise-wide growth strategy. Eyal began his career in sales engineering. His passion for technology and business lead him to enterprise technology. After success at several organizations, Eyal moved to Boston to earn his MBA with a focus on marketing and innovation. After graduating from Hult, Eyal arrived in Silicon Valley where he worked with several startups helping them to build their businesses from the ground up.

Eyal earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey and an MBA from Hult International Business School.