This article explores the concept of financial service platforms and aligns resulting business (process) goals with the necessary crypto architecture. We have a particular look at the integration of MS Dynamics and MS Azure, as it is a rapidly growing service extension platform for many banks.

Securely managing cryptographic keys is typically the most difficult part of encryption. In the recent Ponemon Institute survey, Global Encryption Trends Study, the following nine types of keys were identified as the most difficult to manage:

Many organizations struggle with cryptographic key management for multiple reasons. However, these pain points can be resolved with the right tools.

For traditional banks to rise above the competition they face from big tech, neobanks, and fintechs, they need to add new digital skills to their traditional banking capabilities; positioning themselves as agile providers of financial services by providing demand-driven services at the right time and place.

The cloud services provided by Microsoft Dynamics 365 are gaining rapid market share in the banking world. A burning question for the security departments is how to take advantage of the cloud services on offer without relinquishing control of their cryptographic keys.

Here we look at some of the benefits offered by MS Dynamics cloud services and how an on-premise key management system should integrate with the Azure Key Vault (or other cloud platforms) to retain control of the lifecycle of cryptographic keys and maintain compliance to banking regulations.

In this article we will look at integration points and explain why it is important that a key management system is able to integrate with a number of applications across various environments (in-house data centers and public clouds).