In the period of intensified digitalization of finance and banking the volume and complexity of cyber threats have increased on a very high scale. Drawing inspiration from this palpable global problem Pallav Kumar Kaulwar Director IT KPMG Dallas has written an exhaustive and highly topical research article discussing a practical multi-layered cybersecurity risk management framework with particular emphasis on the requirements of financial institutions. In Cybersecurity Risk Management in Financial Institutions Kaulwar specifically addresses advanced cybersecurity challenges in the financial services industry and offers insights into how to best counter these threats. The new era of the cybersecurity threat landscape and its understanding. Kaulwar mentions that banks and financial institutions stand out as some of the most targeted victims simply due to the sensitivity and worth of information at hand. With the rise of cyber attacks in terms of malware ransomware phishing and insider attacks the compensatory damages extend much beyond consideration of financial losses. They involve massive losses in market trust disruption of business and regulatory non-compliance attracting major penalties. According to Kaulwar: The changing digital landscape in the financial services domain calls for proactive sophisticated measures that go beyond the conventional security protocols. Enforcing a Multi-Layered Security Model The core research of Kaulwar is the multi-leveled systematic cybersecurity solutions that provide the foundation for effective defensive mechanisms for mitigation of cyber attacks. It has a proposed model that contains four interlinked levels working with the increasingly complex nature of cyber threats both on the technological and organizational aspect. By multi-layered cybersecurity it is really putting its way towards the reduction of incidents or severity of any cyber incident Kaulwar explains more related to how each layer protects the institution from becoming potentially compromised. Layer 1: Global Risk Assessment and Management. Risk and reward indeed become activities at the very founding level of ongoing such operations. Vulnerabilities are identified and prioritized such as Kaulwar says: on where institutions allocate sufficient pen resources for safeguarding strategic capitals in high areas of vulnerability for exploitation by cyber attackers to proactive risk identification and impact reduction of successful attacks. As risk management he says should be always-changing and adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of the cybersecurity threat it is highly desirable to attempt and inculcate a culture where this awareness pervades institutional practice rather than just relegated to the IT departments. Layer 2: Rigid Access Control and Identity Management The second layer identified by Kaulwar has imposed very stringent access restriction on all elements so that unauthorized access to sensitive information systems is prevented. Suggested mechanisms include the use of the least privileges principle multi-factor authentication as well as biometric authentication allowing these mechanisms to best protect information against unauthorized access. Very strong access control ensures that only authenticated users can interact with critical data thus greatly reducing insider threat Kaulwar presents giving due consideration to the contribution a beneficiary makes towards an overall security posture concerning identity management. Layer 3: Incident Response and Recovery Strategies As breaches do happen in Kaulwars model the third layer will have detailed procedures for responding to and recovering from unfortunate incidents. This will comprise plans for orchestrated responses fast containment schemes and large-scale recovery strategies so that operational interruption would be minimized. He states Incident response plans must be very fast very precise and well communicated internally and externally. He also called for regular scenario-based training and exercises to bolster institutional readiness. Layer 4: Continuous Training and Cyber Awareness This is the fourth layer urged by Kaulwar and he also envisages it as covering over-the-years and nation-wide employee training on enhancing cyber awareness and readiness. According to him it is important to build an atmosphere of a security-aware culture in such a way that all employees contribute towards making the companys general cybersecurity a wholesome responsibility. Regular training and simulations elevate employee ability in recognition and response to various cyber threats says Kaulwar reiterating the point that trained staff will form the best initial barrier against cyberattacks. Case Studies: Applying Knowledge in Real Life Kaulwar rounds out his theoretical construct with a healthy dollop of experiential learning drawn from best-practice case studies within the very practical world of finance on how companies have successfully put in place robust cybersecurity frameworks enabling huge improvements in their resilience against cyber attacks. Kaulwars report also teaches lessons in detail from past breaches summarising them for banks not to fall into such traps. Compliance with Regulations as a Strategic Imperative One important aspect of Kaulwars work would be keeping abreast of changing requirements in terms of regulation. He stresses that financial institutions will have to strive to map their cybersecurity practices to different international regulatory requirements so that they can avoid penalties attain consumer confidence and retain market trust. According to Kaulwar Regulatory compliance should not only be a tick-in-the-box exercise but also be an integral part of the cybersecurity strategy closely aligned with proactive risk management. Ethical considerations and human factors define Kaulwars report in cybersecurity viewed by him in terms of information privacy and ethical use of technology. Ethical values must be brought into cybersecurity policy where the pivot will be on aspects of transparency accountability and justice. There must also be this vision for a cyber-secure financial future. Kaulwar foresees an ever-changing cybersecurity landscape wherein the financial institutions are ahead rather than behind the curve. A constant continued merging of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence machine learning and blockchain will reinforce cybersecurity controls and create new best practice benchmarks for the industry. Cybersecurity must be future-proofed which means being in a constant state of adaptation and integration with emerging technologies Kaulwar argues fortifying his view that financial institutions may be hardened and made more resilient through technological innovation and proactive readiness. A major contribution to the conference on cybersecurity this expansive and path-breaking study by Pallav Kumar Kaulwar gives financial entities the basic lexicon for securing e-assets and consequently boosting the worlds economic stability. First Published date : 20 Dec 2023