By David Uberig
Senior Business Development Manager, Finance
Hanwha Vision America
SPONSORED CONTENT PRESENTED BY Hanwha Vision America
“Jugging” may not be a term traditionally associated with banking, but it’s one that represents a new generation of security threats facing the financial industry. Emerging forms of crime like this and many others, combined with evolving privacy demands and changing customer habits, are forcing banks to accelerate their surveillance strategies by adopting faster, smarter, and more preemptive technologies that protect customers, safeguard assets, and defend institutional reputations.
For any financial organization, cybersecurity is now just as critical as physical security, with reputational risk causing equal or, at times, greater concern than monetary loss. Federal standards like FIPS 140-3 level security and NDAA trade compliance are increasingly being adopted voluntarily to reassure customers their personal information is protected.
Privacy expectations are also reshaping surveillance. For example, new “reverse” privacy masking obscures on-screen account data while keeping the person in frame, a shift from blanket masking that can hinder investigations.
The biggest change? A move from passive recording to proactive threat detection. With AI analytics triggering real-time alerts, banks are positioning themselves to stop crime before it happens and, in the process, protect their most valuable asset: customer trust.
Internal Compliance Over Regulation
A common assumption is that security and video surveillance in the banking sector is dictated by extensive government regulation. The reality is that internal risk management strategies and compliance frameworks, such as 90-day video retention aligned with bank statement cycles, really drive day-to-day security practices.
Internal governance policies enable fraud investigations and protect both the institution and its customers without depending solely on legislative requirements. This model also allows for flexibility but requires banks to define their own best practices that often exceed regulatory minimums.
Among all the risks facing financial institutions, reputational risk is paramount. A major cybersecurity breach resulting in customer data being sold on the dark web can cause irreparable harm to customer trust and brand value. As a result, banks are increasingly adopting federal cybersecurity standards such as FIPS 140-3 and aligning with NDAA compliance to ensure their surveillance systems meet or exceed the highest security benchmarks, even when not legally required.
Evolving Privacy Protection
As camera resolutions improve, so does the potential to inadvertently capture sensitive data displayed on screens. Banks are adapting by using advanced dynamic privacy masking, and in some cases, are working with video manufacturers to develop a reverse procedure: masking only the data on a screen while keeping the person in view. This would meet customer expectations for privacy without compromising security footage utility.
The Shift to Proactive AI Surveillance
A major trend is the movement from passive recording to proactive threat detection. Rather than simply storing footage for review after an incident, AI-enabled analytics are identifying suspicious activities in real time to support faster intervention. This approach also enhances operational efficiency. The same AI-enabled algorithms support real-time business statistics such as people counting and queue monitoring, which can aid in branch planning, ultimately improving the customer experience through the ability to analyze behavioral insights.
Staying Ahead of Emerging Threats with AI
One of the fastest-growing crimes, “jugging,” involves criminals staking out customers after they’ve withdrawn cash, whether from an ATM or inside the bank at a teller window, and then following them to less secure spots to rob them. In the United States, numerous media reports have highlighted a dramatic increase in jugging incidents. For example, Texas just signed new legislation providing more stringent penalties against criminals who commit jugging acts. The jugging trend is also being reported in various countries, albeit with less frequency.
Anyone can be a victim of jugging; however, the more common targets include elderly consumers, women, young solo travelers, business owners carrying large amounts of cash to deposit, or individuals with predictable banking routines.
Minimize Risk with Advanced, AI-Powered Surveillance Technologies
Educating customers about best safety practices is invaluable for minimizing jugging and other forms of crime, but financial institutions need to do more. More banks are implementing modern surveillance systems with AI-enabled cameras, visible signage, audio alerts, and video monitors to clearly indicate that all areas, including parking lots, entrances and exits, drive-thru lanes, and ATMs, are under 24/7 surveillance.
Object-oriented analytics address specific industry challenges that traditional pixel-based analytics are not suited to detect. The use of use Boolean logic connects multiple analytics to better define scenes and also assists in reducing false positives.
