When handling sensitive information, or even in any electronic transaction, security is highly important. Studies show that in the UK, “only five out of 11 leading high street banks had adopted two-step authentication to protect customers when they logged into their accounts, even though they have the technology in place” (Banking Tech). Attacks, however, are on the rise everywhere, with 76 million customers affected at JP Morgan in a single 2014 attack (Banking Tech). This seems almost ridiculous to me that the security is existing and ready to go but not actually implemented. Security obviously needs to be prioritized, especially as hackers get smarter and banks are falling behind.
I believe that security needs to be at the forefront of all technological development, especially fintech. I think it should even be prioritized over innovation, in the sense that new technologies are only released once they are thoroughly secured. Banks in Italy are collaborating to take increased security measures, and while this is an interesting move to take with your competition, I think that ultimately it is the smartest one (Banking Tech). The risks ultimately are too high to not collaborate.
Source:
http://www.bankingtech.com/749122/are-banks-taking-security-seriously-enough/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=fintechweeklycom
http://www.bankingtech.com/683741/italian-banks-set-up-cybersecurity-response-team-certfin/