Investment management: Fostering a culture of security and compliance

The financial services industry is rapidly evolving, driven by the need for enhanced visibility into identity access management. Global investment firms face a complex landscape as they seek innovative solutions to manage data, maintain security insights, and ensure compliance. These challenges present both obstacles and opportunities for firms adapting to the changing financial services environment.

I recently moderated a webinar exploring identity governance, permissions, and authorization challenges across various financial services systems. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Director of Cyber and Information Security Kenneth Milcetich shared insights on investment management and fostering security and compliance culture. We discussed risk mitigation and compliance reporting strategies, highlighting how Nasdaq and FINRA used AWS Marketplace solutions to address similar challenges.

This post summarizes key takeaways, including real-world case studies and trends driving cloud adoption in the financial services sector.

Trends in financial services

The financial services industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Pandemic-accelerated digital shifts have led to the closure of physical bank branches and an expansion of digital presence. Capital markets are seeing increased trading volumes and volatility, while the insurance sector is rapidly embracing digital channels where usage-based models proliferate. The payments landscape is evolving towards instant and contactless transactions.

These changes demand technologies that offer resilience, low latency, real-time data processing, seamless integration, and rapid scalability. Financial institutions are now focusing on how to move to the cloud effectively and securely, rather than debating whether to adopt cloud solutions. As described in the KPMG Cybersecurity considerations 2024 report, they’re modernizing legacy systems to meet customer expectations, respond to market volatility, and comply with evolving regulations.

Future state and emerging challenges

The financial services sector must navigate a future with a complex landscape of evolving risks and opportunities. Artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI are opening new revenue streams and markets, while also introducing novel risks. The industry faces unique regulatory hurdles, with an increasingly intricate environment for data privacy and cybersecurity, as described in the McKinsey report, The cyber clock is ticking: Derisking emerging technologies in financial services.

Identity management, governance, and zero trust security are becoming critical components of a robust security strategy. We expect growing automation in incident response and vulnerability management, and wider adoption of identity analytics for fraud detection and prevention, as explained in Gartner: Three top trends in cyber security for 2024. Finding employees with the right cloud compliance skills will remain a significant challenge, pushing institutions to invest more in training and talent acquisition.

Real-world case studies

To illustrate these trends and challenges in practice, let’s examine three real-world case studies.

Financial services firm enhances access management with Veza

A leading financial services firm faced challenges scaling user access reviews and maintaining data access visibility for SOC2 Type 2 and SOX compliance. They implemented Veza‘s platform from AWS Marketplace, which automated access reviews across 60 applications in both on-premises and cloud environments. This solution fostered a culture of access removal by default while ensuring necessary employee access. The result was enhanced security and streamlined compliance efforts, with comprehensive insight into access across their complex IT infrastructure.

Nasdaq optimizes multi-cloud access with Teleport

Nasdaq struggled with managing access across multiple Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts, each with separate credentials. They adopted Teleport‘s zero trust access platform, which provided a unified dashboard for authorized resources and just-in-time access with ephemeral privileges. This streamlined engineer access, improved workflows, and reduced time to market. By automating processes and reducing standing privileges, Nasdaq enhanced its security posture and simplified operations in its multi-cloud environment.

FINRA enhances AWS security with Sonrai’s identity management solution

FINRA faced challenges in managing identity and access risks in its complex AWS environment. They partnered with Sonrai Security to implement their cloud infrastructure and entitlement management platform. This solution allowed FINRA to visualize all identities and access, remediate unauthorized permissions, and prioritize risk mitigation. The result was a significant reduction in cloud risk, improved collaboration between teams, and streamlined audit processes, despite limited resources.

About AWS Marketplace and next steps

As a curated digital catalog, AWS Marketplace makes it easy for customers to find, buy, deploy, and manage third-party software, services, and data. It offers quick, easy, and secure deployment, flexible consumption, contract models, and streamlined procurement and billing operations. Over 330,000 organizations, large and small, use AWS Marketplace monthly to accelerate digital transformation and improve efficiencies across their enterprises.

AWS Marketplace offers solutions that help financial services organizations modernize and transform core systems, adopt open banking practices, and improve digital customer experiences.

Independent research from Forrester estimates it takes half the time to find, buy, and deploy solutions through AWS Marketplace compared to other sales channels.

How can you begin addressing your own identity governance transformation challenges? AWS Marketplace offers solutions for financial services organizations seeking increased agility in delivering innovation, like the ones from Veza, Teleport, and Sonrai Security.

Visit Financial Services Solutions in AWS Marketplace to learn more about the solutions available in AWS Marketplace.

For more insights on the topics discussed in this post, watch Investment management: Fostering a culture of security and compliance. This on-demand webinar includes a Q&A session where you can discover additional information.

Conclusion

The financial services industry is at a critical juncture, balancing rapid digital transformation with complex security and compliance requirements. As we’ve seen from these case studies, innovative solutions from AWS Marketplace can play a crucial role in addressing these challenges. By fostering a culture of security and compliance, financial institutions can not only mitigate risks but also drive innovation and growth in an increasingly digital landscape.

As we move forward, it’s clear that the ability to adapt quickly, use new technologies, and maintain robust security measures will be key to success in the financial services sector. The solutions and strategies discussed here provide a roadmap for organizations looking to navigate this complex landscape and emerge stronger, more secure, and better equipped to meet the evolving needs of their customers.

About the author

Nick Dimtchev is the principal partner development manager, Security and Compliance ISVs – Global Financial Services at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He leads the global go-to-market strategy for the financial services industry, working with the top independent software vendor (ISV) partners and AWS sales teams to deliver value outcomes and customer success.

With over 16 years of experience, Nick has a proven track record of overachieving partner revenue targets, scaling joint go-to-market (GTM) sales models, strengthening executive alignment, and accelerating cloud adoption.