In the digital age, social centers manage their finances and store sensitive beneficiary data online, making online account security essential. Online theft and fraud are growing threats, jeopardizing the confidentiality of personal and financial information.
Here we explore innovative strategies and methods for securing the online accounts of your social establishments.
Raise awareness and train your staff
One of the first lines of defense against theft and fraud is to educate and train your staff. As a facility manager, it's vital that your employees understand the risks associated with online accounts and are trained in IT security best practices.
To achieve this, you can invest in regular training sessions on how to spot phishing attempts, create strong passwords, identify suspicious behavior, and what to do if you suspect financial fraud.
Use multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) or two-factor authentication (2FA) is an effective way of strengthening the security of your online accounts. In addition to the traditional username and password, MFA requires a second form of authentication, such as a code sent by SMS, a fingerprint or a security key.
This approach makes it much more difficult for fraudsters to compromise online accounts, because even if they manage to obtain the login credentials, they will also need the second authentication method.
Monitor your transactions in real time
Setting up a real-time transaction monitoring system is necessary to quickly detect any suspicious activity on your online accounts.
You canuse tools to detect anomalies and monitor connections from unknown devices or unusual locations.
Analyze your users' behavior
Also examine your users' typical behavior when interacting with online systems.
Platforms use algorithms to analyze behavior patterns, such as browsing habits, time spent on certain pages... to detect anything that might indicate fraudulent activity, such as unusual use of account features or sudden changes in browsing habits. Deviations from normal behavior can trigger security alerts.
Encrypt your data
Encrypting your data is another important measure for protecting sensitive information. By using strong encryption protocols to secure your data while it's in storage and in transit, you'll significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted by malicious third parties, it remains unreadable without the appropriate decryption key.
Update your software regularly
You need to keep your systems and software up to date by regularly installing the latest updates and security patches.
Security vulnerabilities in obsolete software are often exploited by cybercriminals to gain access to online accounts. A rigorous patch management policy considerably reduces the risk of these vulnerabilities being exploited.
Manage your access and authorizations
Effective access and authorization management is essential to limit access to your online accounts to authorized persons only.
This involves defining appropriate roles and access levels for each of your users, ensuring that only those who need access to certain information or functions can do so.
Collaborate with your service providers
It's also important to work closely with your online service providers to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place at all levels.
These measures may include the use of technologies such assingle sign-on (SSO) or the integration of third-party security solutions to strengthen the protection of your online accounts.
Even more innovative methods
Some of the latest approaches to securing online accounts:
- Biometric technologies such as facial recognition, fingerprint, iris and voice recognition are increasingly being integrated as authentication methods.
- USB security keys or Bluetooth tokens provide an extra layer of protection by generating unique verification codes that must be used in addition to the password.
- Authentication methods that do not require a password, such as authentication based on unique links sent by email or messenger, are beginning to be explored.
- AI and machine learning algorithms are increasingly used to detect suspicious behavior in real time by analyzing large datasets to spot patterns of financial fraud.
- Additional security protocols for sensitive transactions, such as money transfers or changes to account settings, enable the user's identity to be verified.