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Case Study: Strengthening Cybersecurity for a Financial Institution

Industry: Financial Services
Client: A mid-sized banking institution
Challenge: Ensuring PCI compliance, improving security posture, and addressing internal security gaps

Overview

A mid-sized financial institution faced several cybersecurity challenges, primarily related to managing their small IT team and maintaining compliance with regulatory standards like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). The client was seeking a solution to improve their overall security posture, gain better visibility into their network, and conduct proactive testing of their defenses through purple team exercises. BitLyft stepped in to provide a tailored solution to address these needs.

Challenges

The financial institution struggled with various cybersecurity threats, including phishing campaigns, account compromises, and user access management issues. In addition to the external threats, their small internal IT team was unable to effectively manage and monitor their security environment, leading to concerns over compliance with PCI DSS standards and inadequate network monitoring.

Their specific pain points included:

  • Lack of visibility into network activity, particularly East-West traffic
  • Insufficient control over user access and root account management in AWS
  • Inability to effectively conduct purple team exercises to test their security defenses
  • Difficulty maintaining PCI compliance without proper audit trail visibility

Solution Implementation

BitLyft developed a customized approach to address the bank’s specific challenges, focusing on improving visibility, implementing robust compliance measures, and creating tailored rule sets to prevent future breaches.

  1. AWS Optimization and Rule Creation
    The bank hosted critical services in AWS, including their cloud banking platform. BitLyft restructured their AWS environment, deploying GuardDuty and CloudTrail to monitor for malicious activity. BitLyft also built a set of 40-50 custom rules based on the bank's log sources to alert on suspicious activities, such as unauthorized account access, region violations, and security group changes.

  2. Purple Team Exercises
    The institution was keen on conducting purple team exercises to test the effectiveness of their defenses. Over a three-month period, BitLyft set up simulated attacks targeting their AWS infrastructure, particularly focusing on HTTP requests to their cloud-hosted banking application. These exercises allowed the bank to assess the performance of their security systems and improve upon weaknesses identified during the simulations.

  3. PCI Compliance & Network Monitoring
    To meet PCI DSS compliance, BitLyft deployed network monitors to provide visibility into East-West traffic and ensure no sensitive data, such as credit card information, was transmitted in plain text. Customized dashboards were created to simplify the auditing process, providing the bank with quick and easy access to audit-ready reports for their PCI audits. BitLyft also focused on securing the AWS infrastructure by enforcing policies that restricted root account access and established strict user access control measures.

  4. Long-Term Collaboration
    BitLyft maintained a close working relationship with the client, holding weekly (later quarterly) meetings to ensure continuous improvement. Following an acquisition by a larger financial group, BitLyft continued to support the bank with the same level of care, ensuring that security remained a top priority throughout the transition.

Results

  1. Improved Security Posture
    Through BitLyft's tailored solutions, the bank experienced significant improvements in their overall security posture. The internal IT team became better equipped to manage their environment, and the AWS restructuring provided much-needed visibility into potential threats.

  2. Increased Visibility & Reduced Alerts
    After implementing the custom rule sets, the bank saw a marked reduction in the number of triggered alerts. Initially, there were frequent alerts related to suspicious activity, but after BitLyft’s intervention, this number dropped to only a few alerts per quarter. This reduction highlighted the success of the proactive measures taken during the purple team exercises and AWS configuration.

  3. Seamless PCI Audits
    BitLyft's tailored dashboards and reporting capabilities significantly streamlined the bank’s PCI audit process. The ability to quickly generate comprehensive, audit-ready reports within a business day ensured that the client could easily meet compliance requirements without unnecessary delays or stress.

Long-Term Impact

BitLyft’s partnership with the financial institution resulted in sustainable improvements to their cybersecurity infrastructure. The bank is now well-positioned to handle both internal and external threats with greater efficiency and confidence. With their security posture enhanced and PCI compliance maintained, the institution can focus on its core mission of delivering financial services, knowing that its cybersecurity needs are being expertly managed.

Recommendations

For financial institutions looking to improve their cybersecurity, BitLyft recommends:

  • Regularly conducting purple team exercises to test the effectiveness of security defenses
  • Evaluating EDR policies to ensure protection against ransomware and data exfiltration
  • Monitoring network traffic beyond firewall logs to gain better visibility into potential threats
  • Implementing strict user access controls and limiting root account usage in cloud environments

Conclusion

BitLyft’s comprehensive solution helped this financial institution address critical cybersecurity gaps, improve compliance, and strengthen their defenses against potential threats. Through collaboration and customized strategies, BitLyft continues to support the client’s long-term cybersecurity goals, providing peace of mind in an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Jason Miller

Jason Miller, Founder and CEO of BitLyft Cybersecurity, has dedicated his 20-year IT career, including co-founding SaaS pioneer Reviora, to removing cybersecurity barriers for mid-sized enterprises. Establishing BitLyft in 2016, Jason set out to unburden security teams with innovative, approachable, and affordable solutions, a vision which has made BitLyft a respected managed detection and response provider. Outside his cybersecurity pursuits, Jason is an avid tree farmer and outdoor enthusiast, planting nearly 300 trees on his ten-acre plot and finding joy in hiking, and hunting. His diverse passions mirror the balanced blend of expertise, dedication, and joy he brings to BitLyft.

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