Thursday 28 July 2016

Financial services firms need to embrace new FCA guidelines or face data security risks ...

Yes, it's the Thursday morning PR email, back by popular demand, sent to me by Beau "Shandy" Bass. Let's get on with it -

Organizations within the financial sector using, or considering, the cloud and other third party IT services must ensure they adhere to the new guidelines set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and carry out the appropriate security risk assessments. This is according to The Bunker who argues that a failure to do so will result in increased data security risks.

What?! Excuse me. Who on earth is The Bunker?! 'He sounds like a pervert, boss.' He certainly does, Voice. Should we continue? 'Yeah, go on.' Okay.

The FCA recently published new guidance for firms outsourcing to the cloud to clarify what is required of companies and to help firms effectively oversee all aspects of the lifecycle of their outsourcing arrangements. The guidelines usher in an increased support for the cloud. The FCA advocates that there is no reason why cloud services should not be implemented by financial services firms, as long as the appropriate consideration is applied in line with the rules set out. The FCA has urged financial firms to manage the operational risks associated with outsourcing by applying due-diligence with regards to IT providers, before committing to work with them, by agreeing a "data residence policy" with the chosen provider.

Fair enough.

Phil Bindley, CTO at The Bunker, said: "Cloud is here to stay and it is experiencing increasing adoption due to the major benefits it brings. However, the issue of security is one that remains at the forefront of the cloud debate. Putting appropriate guidance in place and acknowledging the potential risks are two integral steps when it comes to ensuring that the security risks associated with the cloud are minimized. Under the new FCA guidelines, financial firms need to take the appropriate steps to mitigate security risks so that their overall security hygiene is acceptable, this will encourage financial institutions to really consider how and where they are storing their data."

Hang on a minute. This Bunker thing is a firm! 'Thank Christ!' Yeah, there's a note to editors at the bottom of the email. 'Is that you?' The editor? Well, it certainly ain't you, man.

The Bunker is a trusted partner for compliant and secure outsourced infrastructure and data storage. With fully owned UK data centres outside the M25 yet within easy reach of London, we provide Managed Hosting, Colocation, and Cloud Infrastructure and Storage to businesses that value the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their applications and data.

'What a relief, boss!' Yes, Voice. I'm glad we're not mixed up in anything of a sordid nature. I want to be in a positive mood at the end of the week.

...

Anything else? Music? I played my guitar yesterday, but I didn't get any new tunes. You can't control this shit. 'Music is wild!' Sunday's tune actually started off in a dream. Then I worked on it a bit. Maybe I should program my mind to have more musical dreams. It's happened a few times. 'But not enough, Mikey!' I could do with it once a week, man. / Two more tunes like the recent two and I could have a demo stronger than most greatest hits packages. I'm not talking Beatles and Stones, just your average act, you dig?

Ah, laters. Have a nice weekend.