Protecting financial organisations from emerging security risks with integrated solutions

Globalisation and new technologies have led to increased threats for financial organisations

The banking and financial sector needs to be constantly prepared to manage an increasing range of security risks, from fraud and anti-social behaviour to data mismanagement.

Organisations must anticipate such potential risks and have well-established plans in place to address them.  Honeywell, with more than 50 years of experience in the security industry, is helping to secure some of the world's largest financial organisations by providing solutions that protect employees, customers, financial data, operations and assets.

Globalisation, increasingly sophisticated criminals and easy access to new technologies have led to a major increase in the number of threats to banks and financial organisations. As a result, security has become far more than just protection against physical theft and anti-social behaviour. It is now a fundamental requirement of the business. Financial organisations need to have strict control over who has access to data, and be able to account for every transaction, while protecting their staff and customers.

Integration of security solutions: saving time and money

The general nature of large enterprise structures makes it difficult to integrate disparate security solutions into one central system. Today's financial organisations require the latest innovative technology and integrated security solutions, combining access control with CCTV and intruder detection for both corporate headquarters and the branch offices provides major technical and business benefits. Some of the latest intelligent video analytics solutions help to protect perimeters and prevent intrusion as well as providing behaviour analysis capabilities in order to predict and prevent criminal activity.

A system with an intruder alarm combined with advanced access control and audio verification is ideal for financial organisations. An audio verification facility enables quick analysis of an alarm source and cause, reducing false alarms and boosting reliability. Some systems can also use communication paths such as PSTN, ISDN or Ethernet to perform dual alarm signalling functions. 

An access control solution, which particularly benefits financial organisations with a global footprint, is the "one card" solution.  By incorporating multiple functions such as building entry and electronic purse access onto a single card, this technology reduces the need to carry several different cards or ID badges.

Whether engaging in threat/risk assessment, analysing behaviour patterns, or simply completing background checks on employees,  with such integrated security technology gives financial organisations maximum control over users, ensuring that their people, assets and facilities operate successfully. 

Solutions for easier and more affordable migration to fully integrated systems

While the trend towards integration continues, feedback from the market has also shown the continued emphasis on return on investment and value for money, particularly in the current economic climate. Full integration is often the goal of customers, but many cannot afford to buy complete new security systems all together, instead preferring to slowly migrate over time as and when funding becomes available.

Incorporating multiple functions into one card is an ideal access control solution for financial organisations

This gives customers the maximum possible choice when purchasing new systems and ensures that the migration to a new integrated security solution is as smooth and trouble free as possible. Migration to IP based security systems is an increasing requirement. For example hybrid digital video recorders (DVRs) enable new IP cameras to work seamlessly alongside legacy analogue cameras.

Fulfilling information security and other compliance requirements

Financial organisations face ever-increasing regulation, with their entire existence reliant on compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, the Financial Services Act and a variety of other national financial regulations. There are solutions available for this too, such as an identity management system that manages and authenticates user credentials. This allows organisations to integrate physical and logical access so that, for example, users can only access sensitive IT systems once they have badged into a secure area, and it also supports the rigorous implementation of corporate password security policies via single sign-on solutions. This not only helps prevent external and internal threats, but also provides the full audit capability necessary to meet compliance requirements.  

Delivering a complete security system that easily migrates and integrates disparate systems whether access control, video surveillance, intrusion, logical access or intelligent video analytics can give a competitive advantage to financial organisations in today's economic climate. By integrating security systems throughout their network, organisations can attain the highest levels of protection for their customers and employees, creating a safe and secure environment in which to work and invest.

 Honeywell integrated security solutions ideal for financial sector:

• Galaxy® Dimension intruder alarm system
• WIN-PAK® access control solution
• Fusion digital video recorder
• EQUIP® range of IP cameras and domes
• Imprivata - integrated IT security software

	Jeremy Kimber EMEA Marketing Leader Video and access products Honeywell Security Group
	Noelia Castillon EMEA Marketing Manager Intrusion products Honeywell Security Group