Fintech application development security

You can increasingly hear terms such as cybersecurity, cyberattack, personal data protection, and similar terms. Businesses in the fintech segment should be especially attentive to this topic, as fintech companies are one of the most attractive targets for attackers who may want to obtain your customers’ personal data. So what can help ensure the security of fintech apps, and what important points should be taken into account during development? This article will analyze what you can do to protect your software as much as possible.

What are the risks?

First, you should understand what risks you might have to deal with. Currently, the following threats are most often discussed:

• DDoS attacks.

This type of cyber threat is aimed at overloading your servers. The flow of malicious traffic takes over too much of your systems’ capacity and they start to fail. As a result, you may lose some data, temporarily stop providing services, or even become vulnerable to other malicious actions, which we will discuss later.

• Phishing.

When it comes to banking applications security, phishing and attempts to take over your customers’ personal data can be multilevel and quite diverse. You can start with isolated attempts by fraudsters to lure your customers’ data by creating fake applications that look identical to yours and end with the fact that you may face large-scale cyberattacks to hack your servers and databases.

• Data leakage.

This threat can be attributed to a mixed type because data leaks usually occur due to external factors and internal ones. That is, most often, employees of your own company are involved in the “leakage” of information.

There are also other threats, which we will discuss in the context of fintech application development. It is essential for you, as a fintech company, to know this, as everything related to your customers’ information is critical data. We are talking about:

• Bank accounts.
• Personal data.
• Customer account sanctions.

And other sensitive information. The loss of such information can cause reputational problems and reduce the trust your customers have in you as a service provider. That’s why it’s better to think about possible scenarios in advance rather than face the painful consequences of inaction after the fact after a disaster has already occurred.

What will help to ensure the security of a fintech application?

There is a list of things that fintech developers should take into account in the course of their work:

• Data transmission.

Providing a stable, secure data transmission channel is one of the main tasks you should work with. After all, during data transfer, the main risks often arise, and it can be most straightforward for attackers to get hold of the data they need at this very moment. Several tools can help you with this. In particular, we’re talking about AES, one of the most proven data encryption algorithms that makes it much more difficult for attackers to get their hands on data. You can also use RSA, a data encryption algorithm, which is more suitable for small fintech companies with a reasonably small data flow. There are other methods as well.

• Two-factor authentication.

One of the most vulnerable places in the system is usually the user’s login point in the profile. If your direct customers use your application, you should make two-factor authentication mandatory. It will help protect customer data even when their smartphone is stolen, or the phone is lost. 

• A transparent system of accesses and permissions.

This will help you protect yourself from internal risks. Develop a system of team roles and levels of responsibility. According to each group, you should provide access to specific data about your customers and the system. For example, although bank application developers often work with processing and displaying customer information, they should not have direct access to personalized information about your customers — except in certain cases. 

• Careful selection of employees.

Hire your security team, and you will have fewer problems with information leaks. We’re not suggesting you resort to spying on workplaces or recording employees’ screens — that would be illegal. However, we recommend you carefully check the information potential employees provide and take feedback from former employers.

• Artificial intelligence.

AI tools can help speed up processes, make calculations more accurate, and make work easier for your employees. But also, with the help of artificial intelligence, you can monitor the data you receive, analyze it, and catch malicious traffic in time, whether it’s DDoS attacks or virus software disguised as ordinary data.

• Blockchain.

A distributed database – which is what blockchain is essentially about — once changed the game’s rules in the financial market. Because the data on all transactions are stored in the chain and are publicly available, fraudsters cannot counterfeit unique tokens. This reduces the chain of intermediaries and makes the payment secure. By using blockchain technology in your work, you not only become the most modern company but also provide truly secure services to your customers.

• Regular backups.

The advice to make backups is one of the most obvious since the days when each of us had old computers on which we played games when we were teenagers. And to save our progress before quitting, we saved the data several times, just in case. Or after we closed the file with our thesis out of anger, and instead of clicking “Yes,” we clicked “No” in the window that asked if we wanted to save the changes… This painful experience was supposed to teach everyone to keep all the information several times to be safe. However, nowadays, backups are often forgotten, and if a system failure occurs, it has irreparable consequences. Or rather, they are correctable, but the work to restore the system takes much longer. And time is your money, reputation, and the desire of your customers to continue working with you. Therefore, make backups before uploading your software updates to production.

Who can help you create a reliable application?

If you need to create your own software, you can contact Magnise. We guarantee the highest level of fintech application development security, and our developers have extensive experience working with the fintech segment. Thanks to this, we know the main threats and ways to counteract them and will be able to create an application that will be prepared for the possible risks the fintech segment faces.

Sign up for a consultation, and we can discuss everything in more detail. With us, you can ensure your customers’ data is safe!

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