Organisations step down safeguards protecting confidential data during the testing and development of web portals and applications than during the initial production, putting customer data at huge risk, warns Informatica.

In research, 41 per cent of respondents admitted these less stringent safeguards are in use, an approach that the provider of enterprise data integration software said that seems to be due to confusion over culpability when it comes to data protection.

Twenty-seven per cent of respondents said no one department is responsible for protecting this data, and 16 per cent said responsibility lies with their business heads.

Decisions around data protection are therefore being made by those who are more likely to be driven by the potential of meeting corporate targets, rather than addressing data security risks. This, Informatica said, leads to a lack of governance and risk management, in turn adding to the risk of a possible data breach.

Eighty-five per cent of data used during software development and testing is made up of customer information, found the survey, and 43 per cent of IT professionals surveyed are not taking any measures to protect the data that is used in this process.

External parties further complicate things – nearly 85 per cent of respondents said their organisation outsources the development and testing of software applications. In 51 per cent of cases, outsourcing these functions involves sharing real data, highlighting an increased risk as it passes through more hands.

John Poulter, senior vice president, EMEA, Informatica, said: “It is imperative that financial organisations take greater ownership of the data they house by putting people with the right skills and motivations in control. This will not only clear up confusion around data security, but also bolster customer confidence. Ensuring that the right technology is in place is a sure fire way for banks to gain an advantage over their competitors and foster existing and prospective customer relationships that are vital to their success. Data loss or theft will no doubt continue to dominate the news agenda this year, so banks need to do all they can do to ensure their customer data is protected and safe, no matter where that data resides, in a datacentre on-site or in the cloud.”

Innovations in technology are also having an impact: 38 per cent of respondents said their organisation uses public cloud computing infrastructures or platform services in testing and development environments. Of those, 46 per cent admitted they are not confident that the data held there is secure.

“The findings of the research highlight the increasingly complex challenge that IT professionals in the financial services industry face, to manage the growing volumes of customer data stored across the business. Every day people trust their banks to adequately manage and protect their personal information and it’s worrying to see that they are being unwittingly exposed to unnecessary risks. Despite a strong of high profile data breaches in the financial services industry, it appears that IT professionals need a further reminder of the need to effectively manage customer data,” Poulter concluded.

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