A single breach of customer financial records can undo years of trust a bank or financial institution spent building. The Training Course in Protecting Financial Institutions Through Information Security Management, delivered by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, is built around that risk, equipping participants with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and secure information systems across the financial sector.

The course combines the principles of information security, risk management and regulatory compliance with theoretical instruction, practical exercises and case studies, so participants leave able to design, implement and run a security programme rather than simply describe one.

Who Should Attend?

• IT professionals, security managers and risk managers.
• Compliance officers and anyone involved in securing information systems within financial institutions.
• Managers and owners of companies and government institutions.
• Accounting, information and documentation department managers.
• Staff working with financial records or in an information-security department.

Knowledge and Benefits:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of information security in the context of financial institutions, and the regulatory and compliance frameworks specific to the sector.
• Identify, assess and mitigate information security risks using security governance principles.
• Design and implement security controls, including continuous backup systems, to protect financial data.
• Develop an information security policy aligned with company policy, and know how the leading global firms secure financial records.
• Plan for incident response and disaster recovery, and understand potential risks of data theft or damage.
• Run innovative, well-organised testing that effectively raises system quality.

• Module 1: Why Financial Data Needs Its Own Security Mindset

  • Types of financial data and the unique security challenges financial institutions face.
  • Definition and importance of information security in this context.
  • Risks associated with financial data breaches.

• Module 2: Staying on the Right Side of Regulation

  • Key regulatory frameworks (GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX, GLBA) and sector-specific compliance requirements.
  • The role of audits, and reporting requirements and best practices.

• Module 3: Finding and Controlling Risk

  • Identifying types of information-security risk and potential threats or vulnerabilities.
  • Conducting quantitative and qualitative risk assessments.
  • Implementing controls that reduce risk while preserving operational efficiency.

• Module 4: Policies, Frameworks and Data Protection in Practice

  • Key components of an effective security policy and how to develop and roll one out.
  • Adapting recognised frameworks such as NIST and ISO 27001 to financial institutions.
  • Protecting data at rest and in transit, including masking, anonymisation, encryption methods and key management.

• Module 5: When Things Go Wrong – Response, Recovery and Readiness

  • Developing incident-response and disaster-recovery plans, including business continuity testing.
  • Conducting forensic investigations and applying lessons learned.
  • Building a security-conscious culture through employee training and simulated security drills.

• Module 6: What's Next in Financial Security

  • Current and emerging threats, including new fraud and cyber-attack techniques.
  • The role of AI, machine learning and blockchain in the future of financial security.
  • Continuously adapting security measures to a changing threat landscape.