Security
How First Bank of Nigeria is driving Secure Banking in the digital era with Wragby Solutions
Cyber threats continue to pose as a thorn to the Nigerian banking industry, necessitating ongoing efforts to enhance security and combat fraudulent activities. To stay ahead of these threats, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) embarked on a journey to enhance its cybersecurity measures and protect its valuable assets.
Wragby supported FBN to deploy a Security Operations Center (SOC) which helps to detect, hunt, and respond to cyber threats more effectively. By implementing cutting-edge solutions such as Microsoft Sentinel, FBN has not only fortified its defenses but also ensured compliance with regulatory requirements.
The Business Challenge
Demonstrating its strong financial performance with a vast network of branches, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) remains a leading financial institution. For over 128 years, it has offered corporate and retail banking, investment banking, and wealth management. By 2022, FBN has served over 36 million customers, making it one of the country’s largest banks. In 2023, FBN reported a 44.2% growth from the previous year.
However, despite being a leading financial institution in Nigeria, FBN was not immune to these evolving threats that affects other financial services organizations and must continuously implement robust measures to safeguard against cyber-attacks. The impact of these breaches can be far-reaching and long-lasting for the affected banks, from customers switching to other banks to penalties from regulators, loss of sensitive customer information, financial losses, and reputational damage, the list is endless.
It was against this backdrop, the need to protect her business assets and remain compliant with regulatory requirements that First Bank of Nigeria sought to address one of the elements critical to the sustainability of her Cybersecurity Operation Framework. A Security Operations Center (SOC) is responsible for monitoring and analyzing an organization’s security posture, detecting cybersecurity threats and incidents, and responding appropriately to minimize their impact. First Bank of Nigeria desired to enhance the scale at with their SOC can detect and hunt threats and consequently improve the speed of response. First Bank was at this crossroad when Wragby came on the scene to be of help. Wragby as a trusted partner, stands as a sentinel fortifying & shielding organizations from the dark forces of cyber breaches and vulnerabilities. From zero-day exploits to AI-driven attacks, we have remained the architects of secure cloud, the whisperers of threat intelligence, and the defenders of data privacy.
The Better Together Story
As an MSSP (Microsoft Security Solutions Provider) Wragby offers a range of security services and products that help businesses protect their sensitive data, prevent cyber-attacks, and ensure regulatory compliance. We(Wragby) take advantage of the complete Microsoft 365 Security, Identity and Azure Security stack to drive a full Zero trust approach based on the 6 pillars (Identities, Devices & Endpoints, Data, Apps, Infrastructure and Networking). We engaged the First Bank team through series of workshops and conversations to present the art of the possible and deepen our understanding of the Banks cybersecurity requirements. The necessary Assessments and analysis were then conducted, and Microsoft Sentinel emerged in the clear lead as a robust SIEM Solution, a core building block for managing the SOC.
The integration of Microsoft Sentinel with other Microsoft Security products like Azure Security Center and Microsoft Defender (for Endpoint, Identity, Cloud Apps, Vulnerability Management) was very compelling. The combined power of Microsoft Sentinel and Azure Security Center with the Microsoft Defender suite offered cost-effectiveness that attracted First Bank. They saw this as “an entire security arsenal used wisely”. Sentinel’s cloud-native design worked seamlessly with Defender’s strong features, resulting in comprehensive protection without high costs.
However, the story evolved from SIEM to SOAR. Seeking more than a basic SIEM-only SOC, First Bank embraced Sentinel’s SOAR abilities, using automation to handle detection and response. This reduced the need for human intervention, allowing cyber threats to be met with quick, automated actions, minimizing errors.
First Bank switched to Microsoft Sentinel for its scalability and cost benefits. With Azure Firewall and Azure Security Center, Sentinel surpassed their cyber security needs. Previously using ArcSight, the switch to Microsoft’s tool was smooth and became the obvious choice for First Bank of Nigeria.
Why Wragby
Wragby remains dedicated to innovation and excellence in cybersecurity. We foresee a landscape where cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, necessitating continuous innovation of our Security offerings. Our commitment to utilizing advanced technology features such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, will bolster our customers’ ability to predict, detect, and neutralize threats proactively.
We continue to deepen our collaboration with strategic partners, industry leaders, and regulatory bodies to stay at the forefront of cybersecurity advancements. By nurturing these relationships, we aim to continue supporting our clients in achieving their business goals securely.
Wragby Business Solutions & Technologies Limited is a Managed Security Solutions Provider (MSSP), we offer a range of Consulting, Professional and Managed Services to help our customers secure their IT infrastructure and protect their data from cybersecurity threats and attacks. Our Managed SOC Offering is published in Azure Marketplace and at Co-Sell ready state.
The journey ahead is promising, and together, we will continue to build a secure future for all.
