Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is no longer a new phenomenon. It is becoming more and more popular every passing day and allowing organizations to be creative and smart with how they employ these automation tools and reach new heights of success. McKinsey & Co. pointed out that the return on investment from the RPA deployment can be anywhere between 30-200 % in the first year alone. RPA has no limitations and any industry, and any sector can enjoy the deep insight and simplified, quick, and error-free processes made possible by RPA.
Industries as diverse as HealthCare, finance, insurance, human resource, supply chain, and service industry are investing in the RPA and getting great ROI from it.
For those who are late to the party, RPA tools are one of the most time-forward technologies that enable businesses to automate repetitive, manual and rule-based activities that before now could only be performed by humans. The possibilities are innumerable where RPA can provide quicker, error-free, and extremely cost-effective solutions.
Without a doubt, the businesses are now convinced of the myriad of advantages offered by RPA. However, one question that often stays on the mind of business leaders is, exactly how secure is RPA?
Risks Involved With RPA
It would be a big fat lie if we tell you that RPA is 100% safe. Keep in mind that the creators of RPA and the hackers belong to the same species. There will always be someone more intelligent and sharper than the other. This is why, RPA tools and AI also have their vulnerabilities, that can be discovered and exposed by the rogues.
That isn’t to say that RPA is an extremely risky technology. It has its keys and locks in place, but it requires protection just like any other locker containing sensitive information.
As we said, the disreputable agents in the society are just as sharp, and they are sharpening iron with iron by using Artificial Intelligence to breach RPA. As businesses are automating processes, the offenders are automating their hacking routes.
Some of the key security risks include fraud, access to sensitive data, abuse of administrative privileges and access, a glitch in the critical system, and data privacy.
Security Protection With RPA
As there are risks involved, there are also solutions and preventive methods for businesses and organizations to keep their data secure. Let’s see what they are:
-
Automated Malware Detection
Standard anti-virus systems are not enough to stop the attackers. This is why the new automated security system is being developed for automation processes that can improve the chances of catching hackers and viruses by 60% to 70%.
For a friendly human hacker, it will take hours and hours to detect the malware and fix the problem. Even then there are chances of missing out. Automated malware detection stays on the lookout and secures the vulnerable information before it gets breached, and reduces the risk.
-
Smartening Up with Each Threat
The reason why robotic process automation and AI is different from other technology is that it allows machine learning. The software learns from its past mistakes and experiences and learns to solve problems the next time it occurs.
As a result of this, many businesses are deploying AI for smarter security and for bolstering protection against hi-tech hackers.
-
Data Deception Technology
Another technology that makes RPA more secure than ever is data deception. This tech provides a high level of security by detecting and defending some of the most sophisticated attacks.
Data deception software first detects the threat, then tricks it and then catches it. A company can maintain one of the strongest securities by employing smart security personnel and deploying the data deception software. Together, the two can keep the information and the system secure and even gain a competitive advantage by staying ahead of the competition as well as the hackers.
-
Audit Logs
Threats to security aren’t always from the outside, it can be from within the organizations as well. One method of preventing security and system problems of RPA software is through supervision.
A number of RPA software offer the feature of audit logs. The audit logs allow the security personnel to trace and keep an eye on all the activities performed by the robotic tools and the user within the integrated automated system. Whether it is malicious code, a malfunctioning robotic automation process, or misuse of the system by an employee, the audit report will make it visible.
In addition to prevention, it also allows to eliminate and detect the problem in cases where the security breach has already happened. The audit logs can be retraced right up to the point and source where the breach has happened, who did it, and when it had happened.
-
Data Loss Detection
A telltale sign of something fishy in the system is data loss. For this security method, cognitive learning can be applied to detect if something is missing. Once that is detected, audit logs can be checked, and appropriate security measures can be taken to maintain a stronger security wall and remediate the offending systems.
-
Applying Data Restriction
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, yet most enterprises forget that and give a full reign and access of data to their employees as well as the bots.
Something as simple as restricting data access can prevent security breaches and misuse of data. Here are some of the ways, data restriction can be implemented:
- Setting geo-boundaries on data will restrict it from crossing the boundaries of cities, countries, and regions.
- Retention of data is another method that keeps the data from falling into wrong hands. After transactions are processed, sensitive data should be removed from the system regardless of whether it was a human or a bot who processed it.
- Segregated access to data is another necessity often overlooked by enterprises.
The solution to the security of RPA and AI system is within itself. Additionally, the IT departments and the security personnel can bring their own creative input to create as secure a system as they can. The RPA tools are scalable and can be customized to create airtight security against hackers and viruses.
Omnisys Solutions has a well-developed practice in RPA, which supports both data analytics initiatives as well as carry out automation driven initiatives. With a focus on business value, Omnisys leverages RPA to deliver tangible dollar benefits to its customers.