As we are witnessing the increasing penetration of robotic process automation (RPA) in different industries and organisations – the concerns regarding its security are also amplifying. RPA technology includes bots that can automate repetitive, regular tasks. These bots are capable of transferring confidential information across different systems of a company implying if they are not being implemented with proper security measures, there are chances of data leakage and fraud.
However, this concern shouldn’t act as a roadblock for you while implementing RPA solutions in your organisation. RPA offers a plethora of benefits such as faster, error-free operations with low operational cost. In this article, we will delve into various challenges associated with RPA implementation regarding security and how to mitigate security concerns to ensure a safe approach for adoption.
RPA Security:
If properly implemented, RPA is highly secure. RPA technology eliminates manual errors that open up the entire company to non-compliance issues and data breaches. However, if not implemented by a professional robotic process automation services provider, then there can be risks from internal malicious actors as well as external threats.
As RPA bots are capable of mimicking human-computer interactions, security concerns hop around these bots interacting with confidential data of the company either through accessing, editing, or transferring files.
RPA Security Challenges:
In the RPA bots, there are 5 major challenges that you must be aware of:
a. Data Exposure:
As we mentioned, the RPA bots are introduced to automate repetitive human tasks that include handling customer data, financial records, and proprietary business information. RPA bots that are left unattended or not set properly put your data in danger of being intercepted by attackers with the purpose of stealing or destroying crucial information.
When the RPA bot accidentally exposes sensitive information by transferring it to the wrong destination, it is unintended data exposure. Thus, customer data, financial data, and other sensitive data may be exposed to unauthorized users.
b. Impersonation of Bot:
In the security methods implementation, the bots should be given a unique identity which is not easy to replicate. It is necessary for preventing bot impersonation. When an unauthorized party masquerade itself as a legitimate bot to proceed with actions which may lead to unauthorized activities or security breaches, it is called the impersonation of bot.
If the identity of two bots is the same, you can’t easily determine which bot has initiated an action. This lack of accountability allows unauthorized access or potentially harmful actions which are difficult to track.
c. Storage and Management of Credentials:
For streamlined communication with other platforms, bots must have login credentials. The storage, retrieval, and handling of these credentials pose a security risk as if there is any flaw in this procedure, it will lead to unauthorized access and data manipulation.
If the encryption methods in an RPA system are weak or the login credentials are stored in plain text, it becomes susceptible to credentials theft. These flaws could be used by malicious parties to access systems or sensitive data without authorization.
d. Oversights in Rapid Deployment:
The quick deployment urgency of RPA may lead to oversight in implementing important security measures.
Sometimes, many organizations are in a hurry for quick implementation of RPA bots to automate their routine tasks and don’t take a thorough security assessment. It leads to unencrypted communication between the RPA bot and backend systems. This is a preventable mistake that leaves your RPA strategy open to hackers or other threat interception.
e. 3rd Party Integration Dependency:
While implementing RPA, there will be multiple 3rd party integrations with other systems. Without proper security, these integrations can create further points of risk. Suppose an RPA bot uses an unauthorized external application to transfer data; if the external party is compromised or has security issues, the workflow may be disrupted or the data may be changed.
RPA Security Tips:
After knowing all the major possible loopholes of the RPA security measures, let’s know how we can ensure the safety of RPA systems in our organization. Being a leading RPA consulting company, this is what we recommend:
a. Authentication Protocols:
Each RPA must have a unique identifier so that they are easily distinguishable and have specific access privileges. Giving unique identities will help prevent bot impersonation and unauthorized use. Furthermore, you can also set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) or other forms of “human-to-system” verification as an extra layer of security.
b. Credential Management:
If you are keeping all your login credentials and passwords in one place, we highly recommend using an encrypted password management system. This will ensure that all the passwords can only be accessed and updated by authorized persons. The limited access will decrease the probability of obtaining sensitive login credentials by unauthorized users.
c. Use distinct credentials for each bot:
Assigning distinct login credentials to every bot improves security and accountability. This eliminates the potential for bot impersonation and links each bot’s actions to its unique identification.
d. Regular Monitoring:
Using monitoring tools, an RPA system will inform the administrators if there is anomalous access by any RPA bot to sensitive information. With proactive monitoring, it is possible to quickly investigate and address the arising concerns.
e. Routine check of RPA scripts:
You can create and deploy RPA script audits to ensure they align with the security standards. This proactive approach promptly identifies any weaknesses or unforeseen threats in the automation scripts and ensures their long-term security and performance.
f. Control User Access:
The authorization measures should be highly strict to limit access to sensitive data and ensure that only users with proper authentication will have access to crucial information.
Access credentials can be routinely evaluated to ensure that only necessary users handle sensitive data once an RPA system has been set up to restrict access to critical financial data for a specific user group inside the organization.
g. Maintain Integrity of Log:
To maintain the integrity of the log, the log files must be protected against tampering or unauthorized access. These are reliable records that must be preserved with utmost caution for audits and investigations. For higher security, you can encrypt RPA logs for the protection of critical business data and decide the authorization access accordingly.
How a good RPA solution will ensure organization security?
There are 6 major ways by which an RPA keeps your organization safe:
1. Adherence to Security Protocols:
During the management of highly sensitive data, there can be increased data breaches if the data is being handled manually. However, RPA follows pre-defined rules and protocols, eliminating the risks of data exposure or data breaches.
2. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery:
At regular intervals, the RPA bots take back up the critical data of business. Thus, if anything goes south, these bots facilitate swift data restoration by retrieving and reinstating backed-up information, ensuring minimal data loss and seamless business continuity.
RPA bots can also create accurate copies of critical information and meet regulatory compliance standards.
3. Enhanced Monitoring and Logging Capabilities:
There are powerful logging and monitoring features in the RPA platforms to evaluate the real-time activity of the bots. It will increase the transparency of operational procedures and facilitate the detection of security breaches.
For e.g. RPA incorporates accurate timestamps and audit trail sequencing data. A clear chronological order of data activities is made possible by this careful documentation of events. Such accuracy, which provides a precise timeline of actions, is essential for audits and litigation.
Wrapping Up:
In this article, we have gone through all the crucial aspects of RPA security including potential threats, common breaches, and how to implement security RPA bots. At A3Logics, the reputed AI development company, we have expertise in developing RPA solutions as per clients’ specific needs. We analyze the operations that can be automated, create rules, and implement RPA bots accordingly. Let us know your requirements.
