Online security has been a hot button issue ever since the advent of the Internet. The impact of cyber crimes greatly affects not only consumers, who may lose their identities and/or their resources, but also retailers, who lose customers and employee hours to dealing with the aftereffects of these crimes.

The analytic software company FICO, which assigns consumer credit scores, has dedicated itself to combatting cyber crime and putting in place new programs to protect consumers. And their hard work has paid off, as they’ve just received an award from Fintech Finance magazine. The Silver award for Best in Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention recognizes FICO for their pioneering work in the field, especially in connection with the FICO Falcon Fraud platform.

Ali Paterson, senior editor at Fintech Finance, said the company “is a clear leader in the fraud arena with its Falcon platform, which is used across jurisdictions to combat fraud through event processing, monitoring, rules and case management for transactions.” Paterson said FICO has developed an impressive array of cybersecurity solutions, and “has been fighting fraud longer than its competition, and has continued to lead with analytic innovations and their application to new problems.”

Staying safe online

If you’re worried about the safety of your financial data online, there are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind. First, keep your passwords in a safe place, make them hard to guess, and change them every six months. Second, never log into your credit issuer or personal bank’s website when you are connected to public Wi Fi. Only enter your payment information to sites you feel sure are legitimate, and make sure you are using a secure online connection that is encrypted and protected by a password.

FICO security features

The Falcon Cybersecurity Analytics software by FICO allows companies to detect threats to their security, based on “user and entity behavior analytics.” The FICO Enterprise Security Score objectively assesses security risks to any given organization. The two combine to make up the FICO Falcon Platform, which is responsible for protecting over 2.6 billion payment cards around the globe.

Doug Clare, vice president of cybersecurity solutions at FICO, said the company has been fighting cyber crime for close to 30 years. “The strength of our portfolio, and the level of invention in our products, is unmatched.”