Illusive Networks, a provider of Cybersecurity measures, has launched SWIFT Guard, a cyber deception technology solution to help combat coordinated assaults on SWIFT banking systems, per an Illusive Networks statement.
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The solution comes after a rough year for SWIFT, which placed the global financial messaging network in the international spotlight after an attempted $1 billion heist that left over $80 million stolen from the Bangladesh Central Bank earlier this year. The system itself has been targeted by several cyber attackers, given the high volume of finances SWIFT oversees on a daily basis.
For its part, SWIFT has embarked on several initiatives to fortify its security and network management – moreover, no additional funds have been stolen from any banks in SWIFT’s orbit, however an ongoing investigation in the case of the Bangladesh Bank has threatened to erode confidence in the group.
Even SWIFT’s staunchest advocates have recognized the herculean task of policing a global messaging network, as conventional prevention technologies have ultimately proven to be an unsuccessful deterrent against experienced hackers. Indeed, smaller banks with minimal cyber defense resources have also served as vulnerable points of entry in a vast network.
SWIFT Guard Up to the Task?
SWIFT Guard is an engineered solution with the sole intent of helping police SWIFT’s network from cyber threats. The new solution features Attacker View, which reveals all attack paths to the SWIFT network, also helping defenders understand where their network is exposed and make calculated decisions on how to optimize deception policy.
As many SWIFT installations utilize older SWIFT versions that do not meet current SWIFT security standards, SWIFT Guard was also designed to help reconcile the security gap in these systems by detecting and mitigating attacks irrespective of version and configuration.
SWIFT Guard features a number of other attributes such as, attack mitigation, multidimensional SWIFT-specific deceptions to create decoy SWIFT networks, detailed forensics, agentless technology, among others.
According to Shlomo Touboul, CEO of Illusive Networks, in a recent statement on the launch of SWIFT Guard: “The vast majority of attention and budgets continue to be allocated to prevention tools, which are proving ineffective in protecting against advanced attacks that caused severe damage and financial loss to financial institutions worldwide.”
“It’s also not easy to upgrade the SWIFT configuration. An overall blanket is needed to close the gap in security. Deception based technology is the last chance to detect and mitigate sophisticated attacks aimed at the SWIFT system,” he added.
