Executive Summary
This case study demonstrates how Ancrew Global Services successfully implemented a comprehensive AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) solution for one of the leading FinTech companies, providing robust protection against sophisticated cyber threats and ensuring compliance with financial industry security standards.
Client Overview
Our client is one of the leading FinTech companies revolutionizing digital financial services across multiple markets. The organization operates a comprehensive suite of financial technology solutions including digital payments, mobile banking, cryptocurrency trading, peer-to-peer lending, and investment management platforms.
With a rapidly growing user base exceeding 5 million active customers and processing billions in transaction volume annually, the company has established itself as a major player in the digital financial ecosystem. Their platform serves individual consumers, small businesses, and enterprise clients with innovative financial products that leverage cutting-edge technology to democratize access to financial services.
The Challenge
The client faced critical security challenges while migrating their core financial applications infrastructure to AWS. Given the sensitive nature of financial data and the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks targeting FinTech companies, they required enterprise-grade security measures to protect against evolving threats.
Key Security Requirements:
- Protection against OWASP Top 10 attacks and OWASP Top 10 API security threats
- Defense against sophisticated attacks including:
- SQL injection and NoSQL injection attacks
- Cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
- Parameter tampering and cookie poisoning
- Session hijacking and brute force attacks
- Buffer overflow and OS command injection
- Data encoding vulnerabilities and backdoor exploits
- Implementation of IP reputation-based blocking
- Rate limiting to prevent abuse and DDoS attacks
- Compliance with financial industry security standards (PCI DSS, SOX)
- High availability and traffic management capabilities
Critical Business Concerns:
- Protecting sensitive financial data and customer personal information
- Maintaining customer trust and regulatory compliance
- Preventing financial fraud and unauthorized transactions
- Ensuring platform availability during high-traffic periods
- Mitigating reputation risks associated with security breaches
Our Solution
Ancrew Global Services implemented a multi-layered security architecture centered around AWS WAF with comprehensive threat protection capabilities:
Advanced WAF Configuration
Custom Security Rules:
- Developed and deployed custom AWS WAF rules specifically designed to address OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and API security threats
- Implemented advanced pattern matching for financial application-specific attack vectors
- Configured specialized rules for parameter tampering, cookie poisoning, and session security
- Enhanced protection against debugging exploits and backdoor attempts
Rate Limiting and Traffic Management:
- Implemented sophisticated rate-based rules limiting requests to 100,000 per 5-minute evaluation window
- Configured IP-based restrictions to prevent abuse from suspicious source addresses
- Deployed geographic blocking for high-risk regions
- Established tiered rate limiting for different user categories (anonymous, authenticated, premium)
Comprehensive Security Integration
AWS Shield and DDoS Protection:
- Configured AWS Shield for managed DDoS protection
- Integrated protection with Application Load Balancers for seamless traffic distribution
- Implemented real-time monitoring for attack detection and mitigation
Identity and Access Management:
- Configured granular AWS IAM policies for secure resource access
- Implemented least-privilege access controls for all system components
- Established secure session management protocols
Threat Intelligence Integration:
- Deployed AWS WAF IP reputation lists to block traffic from known malicious sources
- Integrated threat intelligence feeds for real-time protection updates
- Configured automated rule updates to adapt to emerging threats
Architecture Components
Core Infrastructure:
- Amazon CloudFront: Global content delivery with integrated WAF protection
- Amazon EKS: Container orchestration for scalable microservices architecture
- Amazon DynamoDB: High-performance NoSQL database for transaction processing
- Amazon Aurora Serverless: Scalable relational database for financial records
- AWS Systems Manager: Secure remote access and infrastructure management
- AWS Transit Gateway: Secure network connectivity across VPCs and on-premises systems
Security and Monitoring:
- Amazon Route 53: DNS management with health checking
- AWS Security Hub: Centralized security monitoring and compliance tracking
- Amazon GuardDuty: Intelligent threat detection and analysis
- AWS KMS: Encryption key management for data protection
Results and Outcomes
The implementation delivered exceptional security improvements and operational benefits:
Immediate Security Enhancements
- Advanced Threat Protection: Successfully blocked 3.01% of incoming requests within the first 24 hours, demonstrating effective threat detection
- OWASP Compliance: Comprehensive protection against all OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and API security threats
- Zero Security Incidents: No successful attacks or data breaches since implementation
Operational Improvements
- Enhanced Performance: Optimized traffic routing and caching improved application response times by 35%
- Scalability: Auto-scaling capabilities handle traffic spikes during peak trading hours
- Compliance Achievement: Met all regulatory requirements for financial data protection
Business Impact
- Customer Confidence: Enhanced security posture strengthened customer trust and platform adoption
- Regulatory Compliance: Achieved compliance with PCI DSS, SOX, and regional financial regulations
- Cost Optimization: Reduced infrastructure costs by 25% through efficient resource utilization
- Business Continuity: 99.99% uptime maintained even during high-volume trading periods
Advanced Security Metrics
- Attack Prevention: Blocked over 50,000 malicious requests in the first month
- False Positive Rate: Maintained under 0.1% false positive rate for legitimate transactions
- Response Time: Security rule evaluation adds less than 2ms latency to requests
- Coverage: 100% of application endpoints protected with custom security rules
Why This Matters for FinTech
Financial technology companies face unique security challenges that require specialized protection:
Regulatory Compliance
- Meeting stringent financial industry regulations (PCI DSS, GDPR, SOX)
- Maintaining audit trails and security documentation
- Ensuring data sovereignty and cross-border compliance
Financial Fraud Prevention
- Protecting against sophisticated financial fraud schemes
- Preventing unauthorized access to customer accounts and funds
- Detecting and blocking suspicious transaction patterns
Customer Trust
- Maintaining customer confidence in digital financial services
- Protecting sensitive financial and personal information
- Ensuring platform reliability during critical financial operations
Business Continuity
- Maintaining service availability during market volatility
- Handling traffic spikes during major market events
- Protecting against financially motivated cyber attacks
Conclusion
This successful AWS WAF implementation showcases how FinTech companies can achieve enterprise-grade security while maintaining the agility and scalability required for digital financial services. The comprehensive protection against OWASP vulnerabilities, sophisticated rate limiting, and real-time threat intelligence integration provide a robust defense against the evolving threat landscape targeting financial services.