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Robotic process automation (RPA) is an essential component of the future of business toolkit. Key players have big teams working on RPA, and many others are realizing the benefits before they jump in. Being prevalent among businesses of all sizes, RPA is helping in automating laborious endeavors to keep the operation running smoothly. This accelerating trend is expected to grow tremendously. Benefits are plentiful, but RPA can have a devastating impact on businesses if hackers enter the application. As this tool executes back office processes and deals with vital data, it can attract malicious actors too. Hence enterprises should be well prepared to manage the security risks in RPA, from the time they think of deploying the tool.
RPA is programmed such that it can deal with high volume transactional and many of which are run, with no human involvement. The automation tool can even have vital data that includes employee details or customer information. As malicious actors are waiting to get hold of this sensitive information, there are high chances that they try to enter the RPA platform too.
As RPA tool is designed in such a way that it can be easily operated by non-IT personnel, and there are high chances that the nontechnical departments use RPA tool without informing the IT team. If a company misses out on vulnerability management, it may implant malicious actors into the RPA platform and remotely control the device. The measures that can solve this concern are as follows.
Establishing a governance framework with the help of a risk management program, and educating employees about the risks around RPA can help. Accordingly, organizations should prepare strategies that will define the rules and regulations to ensure RPA security. Employees working in an RPA environment should be carefully granted access rights to logins.
Firms should use a password vault to store and secure all the passwords that are used for the RPA tool. It is one such software program that keeps the passwords secure from the cybercriminals, and it encrypts the database that contains the passwords. With the help of password vault, the RPA team can score all the passwords they use in a single location while not compromising on their security. Encrypting sensitive data and passwords is another measure to mitigate the security risks in RPA.
While businesses are making great efforts in achieving success against cyber attacks, RPA optimizations add to them. All in all, companies deploying RPA should be vigilant of security risks and strategize accordingly.