The financial industry faces significant financial threats, and some of these attacks are becoming prominent and sophisticated, making existing security systems obsolete. To ensure stringent and tight security measures, HSM offers robust protection targeting all the main strategies hackers exploit.
Due to its robustness, it is ideal for protecting different payment systems by controlling system access, payment authentication, and validation and protecting financial transfer and communication networks.
Financial System Protection
HSM systems have various capabilities, such as physical and software security features, to protect all financial and payment systems. The hardware security capabilities include tamper-proof, resistant, and evident-proof capabilities, which prevent access by unauthorized parties such as forced entry and break-ins.
HSM uses encryption and cryptography to protect the payment and communication systems, thereby preventing access from external forces. Another capability is exceptional software, network, communication, and transaction system protection strategies using firewalls for data and communication protection.
To enhance such security aspects, companies can utilize on-premise, cloud, and hybrid payment hardware security modules as a service capability to protect the data and follow all the security guidelines. Therefore, you need to hire HSM experts to help you create a hybrid system linking the tamper-proof on-premise systems with the cloud capabilities to boost the benefits.
Cryptographic and Encryption Security
To secure all the financial transactions, you must complete all transactions and account access using a cryptographic and unique one-time key shared with and used by account owners. These keys are sometimes called the OTP codes the user inputs into the system to validate their identity and authorize transactions.
The keys are a backup to the authorization to ensure anyone who knows your pin cannot access the system unless they have cryptographic keys, which can only be shared with your digital devices, such as mobile phones.
The main goal of the HSM payment system is to generate these keys randomly without the need for human intervention or other systems. Therefore, the organization can centralize these security strategies to ensure only one system generates the keys. While sharing the keys, the communication is encrypted, ensuring no third party can interpret the information, thereby protecting the users.
Payment Card Protection
Payment cards are a bigger target for hackers hence the need to ensure all the data contained is protected from fraud and third-party activities. This includes frauds seeking card numbers and using the details to scam or steal funds from bank accounts. With HSM, the need to provide card encryption and cryptographic pins to authorize transactions protects attackers from using stolen cards.
During the creation process, all the card details, besides the printed ones, are contained in the chip. This chip can only be manufactured with the help of HSM systems which protects all the details engraved to allow access. Therefore, whenever you key the card into an ATM followed by the pin, the HSM system enables the main banking system to recognize the card.
As you input the pin, the banking and HSM system can verify the legitimacy and whether these details match what is in the system, thereby allowing the transaction. The same applies when using the cards at check-out terminals such as malls, restaurants, hotels, and other areas.
Conclusion
HSM offers software, physical security, and protection capabilities to secure financial payment systems. It protects the system that generates cryptographic keys and all other details needed for payment security. Then it uses cryptography, encryption, and firewalls to secure communication systems, financial networks, accounts, and Internet transactions.
