RPA Security: Best Practices for Protecting Automated Processes

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RPA security running in a colorful office

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology has found its way into various industries to automate routine tasks. These bots can transfer confidential data between various systems but require proper mechanism of establishment. If not properly implemented, then the RPA security bots would always be on the verge of security failures such as data leak and fraud. 

However, this worry shouldn’t hold from implementing RPA solutions in your organization. You can hire an enterprise AI development company who will develop and implement RPA solutions considering all the security aspects. In this article, we will cover all the best practices for RPA solutions implementation and how you can protect automated processes.   

Is RPA really secure? 

Undoubtedly, yes. When you hire a top-notch AI development company, they will implement RPA solutions properly and ensure that there are no manual errors that jeopardizes the entire company to non-compliance issues and data breaches. 

Since RPA solutions are able to mimic human-computer interactions – there will always be security concerns for unsupervised RPA bots whose working involves interacting with confidential business or consumer information.  

Challenges in RPA Security

There are 6 major challenges that must be addressed while implementing RPA solutions:  

1. Accidental Data Exposure

As we mentioned above, RPA bots have access to and interaction with the sensitive data and information of the company such as customer data, financial records, and proprietary business information. If they are not supervised and guided properly then the data would always be at risk of being intercepted by attackers. 

If there is unintended data exposure to the RPA bot then it can expose sensitive information by transferring it to the wrong destination.  

2. Bot Impersonation

When an unauthorized entity masquerades itself as a legitimate bot to process things leading to unauthorized activities or security breaches, it is called bot impersonation. Thus, it is essential to give each bot a unique identity for security and to prevent bot impersonation. 

When there is the same identity for two bots, it becomes difficult to identify which bot started a certain action. Since there is no accountability, there is always a chance for unauthorized access or potentially harmful actions which are difficult to track. 

3. Credential Storage and Management

The RPA bots require credentials to access and communicate with other systems. The method for keeping, retrieving, and handling these credentials poses a security risk as any flow in the process will lead to unauthorized access and data manipulation. 

If there are weak encryption methods to store login credentials for RPA bots, then it becomes susceptible to credential theft. The hackers will exploit these vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to systems or private information. 

4. 3rd Party Integration Dependency

The RPA solutions are always integrated with several 3rd party solutions. If not adequately secured, relying on these integrations creates further points of risk. If a RPA bot transfers data using an unsanctioned external program; the workflow may be interfered with, or data may be manipulated if the 3rd party is compromised or has security flaws.  

5. Need for constant Supervision

RPA bots need to be regularly monitored at various levels to ensure they don’t misbehave, which can lead to high error rates and potential damage.  

6. Ineffective Bots

In some cases, bots may not perform as intended due to erroneous coding or inadequate testing. This will result in issues and errors during go-live.   

RPA Security: Best Practices

If you want to leverage RPA solutions to the fullest and unlock significant efficiency gains and improvements in productivity, then it is essential to follow RPA’s best practices. You should remember that although RPA solutions automate most of the operational routine tasks, they also introduce new security vectors that require careful consideration. 

As a top-notch RPA development company, we follow these best practices during our RPA implementation:  

a. Role-based Access Controls

Suppose you create a thousand copies of the safe of your house and hand it over to everyone in your office. That’s equivalent to having lax access controls. The role-based access control can help in mitigating this risk. The RBAC system is designed to provide permissions and access only to authorized people. 

Each RPA bot and user must have access to the specific data and systems required for proper working. It will significantly reduce the risk of damage due to unauthorized access.  

b. Encryption of Sensitive Data

In today’s time, data is as important as the credentials or passwords of your organization. Thus, keeping the data safe is a key responsibility of every organization. With the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. around $9 million, you can’t just overlook the data security outlook. 

While working with RPA bots, data encryption is non-negotiable. The data must be encrypted at rest and during transit it should be unreadable if intercepted. Always remember that a single data breach can have disastrous consequences.  

c. Regular Security Audits and Compliance Checks

Just like other software, there is a need for regular security and compliance checks for RPA bots as well. They require maintenance as well for proper operation. Thus, you have to ensure to set up regular security audits, particularly if you are using RPA bots in industries like healthcare or financial services with strict regulatory demands. 

Monitor bot activities, identify suspicious behavior, and patch vulnerabilities promptly. It is just like even your security team is always on watch.  

d. Security Bot Development and Testing

You can’t just use any random development agency to develop and deploy RPA solutions. Only an enterprise AI development company is capable of meeting your RPA requirements. If you hire an inexperienced company, they will develop a poorly coded bot which can easily contain malicious code or security vulnerabilities. 

When you hire a reliable RPA bot development company, they will ensure to follow all the best practices of development. Furthermore, they give a strong emphasis on testing. Through testing in isolated environments, businesses can more effectively implement secure practices. 

Also, regular audits of codes ensure that the bots are fast, high performance and attack resistant. It is always better to take precautionary measures instead of reacting to issues as they come up.  

e. Harden Existing Security

The hackers always find the easiest point of entry into the systems. The fewer routes of attack in a security system, the more difficult it is for a bad actor to carry out their strategy. To limit attack surfaces in an RPA solution, begin with data. Whether it is remote or unnecessary, limit access and always restrict what is not required. 
 
This applies to connections as well. Only allow access to necessary services and connections. Another critical component of this strategy is standardizing files and formats for centralized management.  

f.  Develop an RPA Security Framework

Developing a set of established frameworks for managing security risks will improve security levels to a great extent. The framework regular risk assessments of RPA processes, defining goals and responsibilities, and security access controls. Although we have already mentioned these points, the governance framework’s goal is to create standards around these concepts. 

A strong framework will go beyond these points, touching on things like logging, monitoring, and compliance. More importantly, ​​security is an ongoing process, and continuous improvement is key to maintaining a robust and resilient RPA environment.  

g. Data Protection Measures

You must not overlook data regulation practices like HIPAA or GDPR. Be sure to implement measures to protect data privacy throughout the RPA processes. It includes practices like data anonymization, data masking techniques, and adhering to data retention policies.  

h. Secure 3rd Party Integration

A secure integration is like a safe bridge between the RPA solutions and your existing systems. You have to conduct thorough assessments, implement robust authentication protocols, and monitor activity across both environments. 

This guarantees a seamless operation while maintaining security. Because these RPA procedures will be integrated into current workflows, careful consideration of the consequences of poor implementation is required.  

Wrapping Up

In this article, we have gone through all the major practices of RPA security. At A3Logics, the best RPA development company in USA, we have expertise in building RPA solutions from scratch. Our experienced developers will understand your needs, and business requirements, and develop RPA solutions accordingly. Let us know your requirements. 

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