In 2001, Consulting Manager Ed was building a career on Wall Street with Morgan Stanley. If you asked Ed 17 years ago where his career would take him, the native New Yorker probably wouldn't have said Cary, North Carolina. But the future Ed envisioned for himself changed on Sept. 11, 2001 when his best friend, Ari Jacobs, and six of his colleagues at Morgan Stanley died in the 9/11 attacks.
"I never imagined connecting my passion for technology and the event that happened on 9/11," said Eng. "But that day was incredibly impactful on my life. It changed who I am and what I wanted to pursue."
Following the 9/11 attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act was passed by Congress, amending the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 and the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, financial institutions with accounts in the United States are required to establish due diligence policies and procedures to prevent, detect and report possible instances of money laundering or terrorist financing. To do that well, institutions must rely on analytics to understand the patterns and insights of financial data.
As a security intelligence consultant, Ed helps financial institutions monitor suspicious and illicit activity through SAS® Anti-Money Laundering. At first glance, the dotted line connection between SAS® software and terrorist attack prevention may not be the most obvious, but one of the most effective ways future terrorist attacks can be combatted is by detecting, reporting and preventing the flow of terrorist funds and financing. With the help of SAS, financial institutions can track the flow of funds, identify suspicious criminal activity and report that activity efficiently. The result is smarter and faster decision-making that helps government officials and law enforcement preserve our security and our safety.
"The work we do here [at SAS] matters and it's meaningful," said Eng, who spends his days helping customers understand the complex web of data and analytics, and implementing the technology that keeps our world safe. "It's our duty and why we are all working in this industry day in and day out. That's where I get my passion from."