Protect Your Bank: Lessons from the Royal Mint
Estimated Reading Time : 2-3 minutesDate : 25th Jan 2017
Categories : Accounting, Advice, Banking
In an era where security has been a rising focus for many businesses, 2016 was a year that was filled with a variety of breaches, leaks and networking disruptions as a result of hacks. It seems as though 2017 may be a year that continues this trend, after an audio of the Royal Australian Mint has lead to the discovery of over $1 million being misplaced as a result of several unauthorised payments.
Reported by Fairfax, four payments were processed through the Mint's online banking portal which amounted to $1.095 million in misguided funds being transfered.
Though the Mint had an established authorisation system to prevent such events occuring, which required two individuals to authorise a payment, it was discovered that the system “was not configured with dollar limits on transactions or protocols for who is an appropriate independent second authoriser,” outlined Fairfax.
Whilest these situations are not unique to larger organisations, many small businesses are continuing to neglect the steps needed to ensure that they avoid similar situations themselves.
Our Top 3 Tips for Greater Online Banking Security
Limit Who Has Access
Although this may seem obvious, you'd be surprised how many people would hand over their banking account login details to others. By ensuring that you only provide these details to those who you strongly trust and are in real-need to access your accounts, such as your internal accounts staff, you can significantly reduce your risk of fraud.
Reconcile Your Accounts
Building and maintaining a habit of checking and balancing your accounts is also a highly useful way of catching transactions which have not been approved or seem suspicious. Undertaking this process on a monthly basis enables you to not only keep your eyes out for fraudulent transfers, but also enables you to regularly know your businesses financial position.
Conduct Regular Audits
As an added measure of security and review, undertaking the process of performing a financial audit can provide you with additional reassurance that everything is in order. It is not uncommon for business owners to miss suspicious transactions, but by engaging an external organisation, you'll have an improved chance of catching anything fraudulent.
