The banking industry has been buffeted by the winds of change as international regulation and increasing cyberattacks are forcing financial institutions to ensure they have the strongest possible security controls and backups for critical data. This has forced data center managers to pay closer attention to making sure they have the right data recovery tools in place for system availability.

“It’s no luxury to have the backup as a checkbox anymore. We are caring about availability much more than before,” said Mahmoud Yassin (pictured), lead systems and security engineer of the Data Center Group at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Yassin visited theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, and answered questions from co-hosts Dave Vellante, (@dvellante) and Stu Miniman, (@stu), during this year’s VeeamOn event in New Orleans, Louisiana. They discussed the need for system security, the future of blockchain adoption and the use of Veeam Software Inc.’s technology at NBAD. (* Disclosure below.)

Bank was first to use RSA token in Middle East

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi became the first financial institution in the Middle East eight years ago to use the RSA SecurID hardware token for online banking account access, according to Yassin. “Money is a big target for cybercriminals,” he said, and his organization has focused on having the right technology to restore machines that could be compromised by malicious encryption.

NBAD was also the first Veeam customer in the Middle East, and Yassin told theCUBE that he mixes data backup and the Veeam-run virtual environment together. “Ninety percent of my data center is virtualized. It is the center of our availability strategy,” Yassin said.

Asked about the potential impact of evolving blockchain technology on the banking industry, Yassin explained that adoption has been slowed by limited regulatory oversight. “Good money can mix with bad money and become untraceable,” he said.

The NBAD executive, however, also felt that blockchain technology will ultimately become a key part of the banking system. “This is the future of money. It will take time, but it will be there,” Yassin concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of VeeamOn 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for VeeamOn 2017. Neither Veeam Software Inc. nor other sponsors have editorial influence on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE