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Major Taiwan Bank Protects Their Organization by…
Financial Services | Customer Stories
Major Taiwan Bank Protects Their Organization by Securing Removable Media and Email
World-renowned bank transitions to a holistic technology solution, protecting against zero-day malware, phishing, and unknown file-based exploits.
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About the Company: This organization is headquartered in Taipei and is one of the major banking institutions in Taiwan with 108 branches (including a foreign department) in Taiwan and 39 units overseas (excluding offshore banking branch).
The bank operates both domestically and internationally offering a wide range of financial services, including retail, corporate, and international banking.
What's the Story?: Before utilizing OPSWAT, the bank was under constant threat from malware embedded in files entering their system through peripheral/removable media, and phishing incidents targeting employees through their email. To address this, the bank upgraded its file-security measures by moving from a single solution (one search engine scanning for malware) to multiple OPSWAT solutions including OPSWAT MetaDefender Kiosk and MetaDefender Email Security with Multiscanning and Deep CDR technologies, to prevent all file-based threats-advanced evasive malware, zero-day attacks, and APTs (advanced persistent threats) from entering their network.
Building on this initial success, the bank is evaluating OPSWAT’s solution across its +140 offices worldwide. This is their story.
Due to the nature of the business, the name of the organization featured in this story has been kept anonymous in order to protect the integrity of their work.
Cybercrimes will cost the world more than $8 trillion USD this year according to Cybercrime Magazine. Financial institutions are a prime target as global criminal networks and nation-state hackers persistently try to bypass their defenses to extort financial institutions and their customers.
In a recent interview, Lambert Lin, an information security consultant for one of the largest banks in Taiwan, said that the bank faced threats on two key fronts:
To safeguard against these threats, banks and enterprises require a comprehensive approach to securing their infrastructure, particularly against sophisticated file-based attacks, while embracing a "zero-trust" philosophy that distrusts all files and devices. Implementing these measures ensures uninterrupted data flow, eliminates the need for post-breach investigations, and streamlines compliance with government regulations, reducing costs and complexity.
Lin shared how the bank is using a variety of OPSWAT solutions and technologies including Multiscanning and Deep CDR (Content Disarm and Reconstruction) to prevent cyberattacks via peripheral and removable media, and emails from breaching their network.
We sanitize every email attachment [so] we’re not just depending on detection, we [have] enhanced [the process to include] prevention.
Lambert Lin
Information Security Consultant
Solving the Peripheral & Removable Media, File-Based Threats
In a recent case revealed by Bleeping Computer, “A financially motivated threat actor using USB devices for initial infection was found abusing legitimate online platforms, including GitHub, Vimeo, and Ars Technica, to host encoded payloads embedded in seemingly benign content. The attackers hid these payloads in plain sight, placing them in forum user profiles on tech news sites or video descriptions on media hosting platforms.”
Mr. Lin’s bank in Taiwan faced similar threats from peripheral and removable media devices being used to access their network by external vendors including outside service representatives and corporate customers needing to upload files into the bank’s network.
Before integrating OPSWAT solutions, the bank relied on a single desktop with one antivirus engine for scanning devices and files, leaving critical infrastructure vulnerable to malware threats. With the need for compliant solutions and evolving threats, such rudimentary security measures were inadequate.
In the Taiwan bank example, if a vendor came in and wanted to connect to the bank’s network, they would simply connect their removable/peripheral media to the bank’s desktop computer, which would scan the device. If no malware was detected, the device could be brought in for use in their server room or their network environment.
Reducing the Risk of Malware from Peripheral and Removable Media
Mr. Lin quickly closed this security gap by deploying MetaDefender Kiosks at their main facility. OPSWAT MetaDefender Kiosks scan more than 20 types of removable and peripheral media, and support a wide array of file types to keep critical networks safe from threats.
In addition to Multiscanning, OPSWAT MetaDefender Kiosks run Deep CDR technology that prevents known and unknown file-based threats, protecting against malware and zero-day attacks. Deep CDR regenerates safe, usable files and supports hundreds of file types, including PDFs, archives, and file formats that support archives to detect and neutralize potential threats before they can cause harm.
The [bank] wanted to deploy a kiosk at every branch… in the first phase, they installed the kiosks at their headquarters.
Lambert Lin
Information Security Consultant
Impressed by OPSWAT Kiosks' performance, the bank plans to extend the enhanced security to its 140+ branch offices worldwide in phases. This addresses vendor challenges and is crucial for corporate clients transferring sensitive data, and ensuring file sanitization before entering the bank’s network.
OPSWAT MetaDefender Kiosk Series
Putting a Stop to Phishing Attacks
Mr. Lin’s second challenge was preventing email phishing attacks. With more than 6,000 employees receiving more than 6 million emails each day (primarily from outside sources), chances of phishing and malware entering the bank’s network through an infected email or attachment were high.
Prior to onboarding OPSWAT, the bank had deployed email filtering gateways and some sandbox technology to detect whether emails included any malware links or malware files inside emails, but they discovered that the solutions could easily be bypassed, allowing malware to enter their system undetected.
To solve this problem, the bank adopted OPSWAT’s MetaDefender Email Security. This solution enhanced their email security gateways with:
Deep CDR
To detect and neutralize zero-day exploits and sanitize file content
Multiscanning
Leveraging over 30 antivirus engines to detect zero-day malware
Real-Time Adaptive Sandbox
To identify malicious behavior and sanitize emails
Real-Time Anti-Phishing
To prevent social engineering attacks like phishing
Proactive Data Loss Prevention
To protect against data leakage using redaction
Because we deployed Deep CDR into the email channel, they [the bank] are very confident to say that there is almost a 95% reduction of malware from the email channel.
Lambert Lin
Information Security Consultant
Preventing Malware and Zero-day Exploits
As recent Gartner research reveals, “As malware sandbox evasion techniques improve, the use of CDR at the email gateway as a supplement or alternative to sandboxing will increase.”
Deep CDR is an advanced threat prevention technology that does not rely on detection. It assumes all files are malicious and sanitizes and rebuilds each file ensuring full usability with safe content.
The result: The bank experienced a 95% reduction in malware attacks after deploying Deep CDR.
“Deep CDR is a very good zero trust solution,” Mr. Lin explained…. It sanitizes every email attachment so they’re not just depending on detection, they have enhanced the process to include prevention.”
Onboarding OPSWAT technology solved the bank’s email and peripheral media problems. It went several steps further by helping the bank transform from a reactive organization that was constantly chasing investigations post-incident, to a proactive enterprise that is using leading-edge technology to prevent malware attacks from happening.
To see how OPSWAT’s innovative solutions can keep your critical infrastructure secure, talk to an expert today.
