Any organization that handles sensitive financial data knows that secure transfers are essential to data security. Discover how a secure file transfer solution can support and enhance your SWIFT usage.
What is SWIFT?
SWIFT, short for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, is a leading secure messaging service for financial institutions and groups. SWIFT is a member-owned cooperative with over 11,000 connected institutions, each working to ensure security systems are in place to protect the wider SWIFT network. And to help guarantee compliance with SWIFT, all users are required to comply with a mandatory CSP framework. The CSP is a security baseline that outlines requirements for cyber defenses and guidelines to ensure cybersecurity policies are up to date and effective.
Banks, exchanges, brokerages, asset management companies, and more, all rely on SWIFT to facilitate business transactions, and SWIFT provides several different services to streamline user messaging and security.
What is MFT?
Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a type of software solution that brings all your file transfer tasks under one roof, securely. Create single or recurring file transfers with internal and external trading partners, automate your regular data exchanges, and monitor both user and file movements from a single interface with MFT.
Most MFT solutions support multiple file transfer protocols and help with data translation, which makes it simple to connect with multiple trading partners where they’re at by using their preferred protocol, data format, and type of encryption.
Related Reading: Meeting Security Standards with GoAnywhere MFT
Finance and Cybersecurity
Finance is one of the industries most impacted by cyber threats; banks and financial services are enticing targets, with huge amounts of sensitive data on hand. However, organizations in the finance industry are also the most likely to take cybersecurity seriously. They employ more effective tools, test their cybersecurity plans, and prepare for the inevitable attack. Thanks to these precautions, financial organizations tend to be better prepared to ward off attacks and avoid data breaches.
Related Reading: The State of Financial Services Cybersecurity
Financial organizations also have to work around various compliance requirements, whether PCI DSS for credit card processing, GLGA, Basel III, or others. These constraints, while meant to support security for individual organizations and the industry as a whole, can sometimes make processes unwieldy. That’s where managed file transfer comes in.
How MFT Helps Users Meet SWIFT Requirements
MFT is a favorite software solution among organizations that both transfer a lot of data and must comply with various compliance requirements. MFT can help meet SWIFT requirements for secure file transfers between various applications thanks to:
- Integration that helps connect workflows through services while keeping them secure
- User access controls, as well as auditing and reporting
- Scalability to get up and running quickly and make changes to meet new requirements
One consumer goods company in the UK uses MFT to resolve multiple pain points:
|
Pain Point |
How MFT Helps |
|---|---|
|
Transfers via HTTPS and VPN did not meet SWIFT security standards |
MFT transfers are secured with industry-standard protocols, including SFTP |
|
Creating, configuring, and editing transfers was difficult and cumbersome |
Eliminate scripts with MFT! Drag and drop file transfer builders let any user quickly create or modify file transfers |
|
SWIFT requires that users limit and protect access to the system |
MFT allows admins to define user roles and limit user access. The DMZ Secure Gateway further protects your files during transfers with external trading partners |
|
Administrators needed centralized insight to track file movements and provide reports |
Detailed auditing and reporting give admins insight into file movement, as well as user access and activities |
