There was a time when passwords, firewalls, and audit logs were enough to meet compliance requirements. But digital operations have come a long way since then, and the threats have grown with them. In India’s financial sector breaches are no longer rare. Ransomware and insider threats are rising, and phishing attacks jumped by 175% in just the first half of 2024, as noted in the Digital Threat Report. Faced with this growing risk, regulators are tightening the screws.
CEO & Co-founder
Accops
The Reserve Bank of India’s new cybersecurity frameworks, paired with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), have triggered a major shift. Financial institutions are now being asked to adopt a security model that works in real time, adapts to changing conditions, and aligns with how people actually work today.
What the Mandates Now Expect
The DPDP Act changes the rules of data engagement. Instead of collecting data first and finding a use for it later, institutions must now operate with a clear, stated purpose for every piece of personal data they handle.
Consent is not just a checkbox anymore; it’s a dynamic, living agreement.Data must be processed responsibly and deleted when it has fulfilled its purpose. This demands re-architecting how data moves across systems, teams, and partners. Most legacy infrastructure was never designed for this level of discipline.
At the same time, the RBI is tightening its grip. Its recent directions on IT governance, outsourcing, and digital lending require consistent security controls regardless of where or how data is accessed. Whether it is a public cloud environment, a third-party support partner, or a remote employee’s device, the level of protection cannot vary. In such a scenario, the traditional model of trusting everything inside a closed network no longer holds. Security must follow the user, not the location.
Zero Trust Framework Is Becoming the Norm
To meet these expectations, banks and financial firms are moving towards adaptive security models that validate every session, every time. These are the foundations of modern Zero Trust frameworks that are fast becoming the new normal across the sector.
This approach is not about distrusting employees; it’s a pragmatic way of limiting the potential attack surface. Instead of just securing the device, the focus shifts to securing the access. Every interaction is evaluated in real time based on identity, location, device health, and behavioural context. Access is granted only when all conditions align and even then, only to the necessary resources.
This model separates personal use from official work without disrupting the user experience, a critical consideration in an era of hybrid work.
By leveraging containerised sessions and virtual environments, institutions can create secure, isolated workspaces, ensuringno data leaves the protected zone. Whether someone is logging in from a branch terminal or a personal laptop, the session remains controlled, monitored, and auditable.
Compliance That Lives in Real Time
The biggest shift is in how compliance itself is now defined. What used to be a periodic audit is now a live responsibility. Both DPDP and RBI guidelines require institutions to ensure that data is being handled securely and ethically. That is not possible through manual oversight. It requires embedded controls, real-time posture checks, and continuous policy enforcement at every access point.
It also requires visibility. Regulators now expect traceability down to the session level—who accessed what, when, and for how long. With the right access model, financial institutions can provide this visibility not just to auditors but to internal risk teams and external partners. This level of transparency is becoming essential for maintaining trust.
Conclusion
For banks and financial institutions, meeting compliance is no longer about ticking off technical checks. It now depends on how well systems can adjust to risk in real time. With RBI and DPDP setting a higher bar, security teams are finding new ways to build trust—through clear access rules, simple controls, and better visibility across users and devices.
Ultimately, the key is not where the data sits, but the integrity and discipline with which it is handled. This new era of compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines; it’s about building a robust, resilient digital infrastructure that instils confidence and positions a financial institution as a trusted partner in the digital economy.
As the lines between physical and digital work continue to blur, the focus is shifting to daily decisions that keep information safe without slowing anything down.
– Authored by Vijender Yadav, CEO & Co-founder, Accops
