IT security and network teams at financial institutions around the world must address demands to rapidly adopt new technology, protect customer data, secure myriad commercial and custom applications, support legacy technologies, and comply with regulations. Meanwhile, they must also securely enable access to personal, financial and corporate data from a variety of locations – including retail bank branches, campus sites, mobile devices, ATMs and third-party business partner networks – despite the increasing volume and sophistication of threats. The Security Reference Blueprint for Financial Services IT empowers institutions to address all these concerns, augment the security of their existing infrastructure, enable new applications, provide secure access to data, prevent advanced threats, and detect and respond to cyberattacks without disrupting vital business operations.

This reference blueprint describes a transparent, nondisruptive security framework that uses the Palo Alto Networks product portfolio to buttress and enhance the security of existing infrastructure. Using the blueprint enables IT security and networking professionals to:

• Reduce the overall exposed attack surface; stop risky, unknown applications from accessing or embedding themselves in the network; and prevent compromise of confidential customer data and other sensitive records. All of this can be realized by implementing a Zero Trust security model in the environment.
• Protect vital operational networks from compromise, unwanted downtime or service interruption caused by security breaches or data leakage. For example, any resources open to third parties, such as business process outsourcing, direct customer access and external business partners, warrant tighter controls.
• Comply with relevant regional or national financial regulatory bodies, such as the Federal Reserve Bank, OCC, FCA, EBA, HKMA and MAS, as well as industry-specific standards, such as PCI DSS, SWIFT and FINRA.
• Complement existing investments in securityby taking advantage of technology partnerships Palo Alto Networks maintains with many leading companies, such as Proofpoint, VMware, and Okta, to ensure seamless integration.

For more information on cybersecurity for the financial sector, visit our Financial Services industry page.