IDFC First Bank automatically secures customer data beyond the perimeter with a custom Seclore integration

The Challenge

Protecting personally identifiable information (PII) outside the organization

As one of India’s largest universal banks, IDFC First Bank is at the forefront of delivering comprehensive financial services through its innovative products and customer-first benefits. To support its rapidly growing customer base, the bank uses a third-party agency to verify and validate information about each customer’s identity and financial history when they sign up for new products.

Securing customers’ PII while it moves outside the organization to the agency is a top priority as the bank is required to adhere to the strict regulatory standards set for the financial services sector and maintain trust with their customers. Failing to secure PII could lead to the exposure of customers’ most sensitive data, resulting in penalties and damaging the bank’s reputation as a top-choice financial institution.

Regulatory enforcement around how banks in India process, store, and use customer data is becoming more stringent. IDFC First Bank was looking to strengthen its security measures and secure data beyond the perimeter to achieve compliance while increasing the efficiency of the verification process. Because a high volume of data was moving in and out of multiple business units, the bank needed a solution that would automate file protection and offer greater control over who could access the data outside the organization without disrupting the customer onboarding process.

The Solution

Easy-to-integrate automated file security across third-party sharing

Previously, when a new customer was onboarded, the IDFC First Bank’s risk containment unit (RCU) sent their file to the agency by uploading it to a custom, web-based document management system (DMS) and manually assigning it to a specific agency user. On the receiving end, agency users logged into the application with separate credentials to view their assigned files for verification. This process was time- and resource-intensive for multiple business units and left room for potential vulnerabilities.

The bank’s team used Seclore SDKs and APIs to easily build automated protection into its existing custom DMS. Instead of rewriting code, the team simply made tweaks to the DMS and easily integrated Enterprise Digital Rights Management (EDRM) capabilities into their system to secure customer files as they moved into the agency and back.

Now, each customer file is automatically protected when it’s uploaded to the DMS via Seclore’s Policy Server. Authorized agency users can see the files in the secure viewer within the web-based DMS app. Once secured, only authorized recipients can view the files, which cannot be shared or forwarded to unauthorized users.

Seclore also offers IDFC First Bank granular security controls that they can customize directly within the DMS app. Seclore’s Access Right Adapter (ARA) feature provided extra customization, allowing the security team to choose between federating only file permissions within their app or extending federation to other parameters such as file classification, owner, and watermark content. With the Seclore integration, IDFC First Bank can easily manage controls for all files, internally and externally, eliminating the need to manually check permissions for each individual file.

The Results

Securing files beyond the perimeter, achieving compliance, and saving costs

Integrating automated file protection with Seclore allowed IDFC First Bank to more efficiently secure customers’ PII data internally and beyond the perimeter. With these security measures in place, the bank was able to fulfill audit requirements and achieve compliance.

Using Seclore’s SDKs and APIs saved the cost of integrating a comprehensive security solution, which typically would have required developing an entire API in-house. The custom integration also ensured that the solution fits into the bank’s existing customer journey and business workflows, minimizing disruption and maintaining an excellent customer experience.

As IDFC First Bank continues to diversify its product offerings and attract more customers, Seclore supports the growing volume of PII data with persistent, granular usage controls and automatic protection for every file as it moves within and outside the organization. Securing PII with Seclore enables the bank to maintain a high level of accountability with regulatory authorities while providing customers with a banking experience they know they can trust.