Exclusive Interview: Rajesh Kumar S., Head- Systems Engineering Enterprise & Govt, Juniper Networks

In an exclusive interaction with DQ Channels, Rajesh Kumar S., Head of Systems Engineering Enterprise & Govt., Juniper Networks discussed Juniper Networks’ various solutions that safeguard the digital banking sector from advanced and emerging cyber threats.

How are cyberattacks rising in the banking sector?

With the steadfast adoption of technology, the surge in cyberattacks has increased. Cybercriminals are actively targeting sensitive data in the BFSI sector. Indian organisations have been targeted with ransomware attacks for years with most of them paying to get back data. A recent survey by Sophos reported that between January - November 2021, India had the third-largest data breach in the world with nearly 8.7 crore breaches reported. Such frequent large-scale attacks have not only forced large businesses but also MSMEs to increase and invest in measures to safeguard against cyber-crime and the cost to recover. The banking sector has been targeted by various forms of attacks within the network including phishing, ransomware, DDoS attacks, supply chain attacks, bank drops and SQL Injections. To mitigate such attacks would require a cybersecurity strategy that addresses the specific threats in the financial industry.

Mobile banking and on-the-go transactions are rising in popularity, mobile phones are one of the least secure points of access. According to Nokia 2021 Threat Intelligence Report, there is an 80% year-on-year increase in the first half of the year in the number of new banking trojans, which also try to steal SMS messages containing one-time passwords. Financial institutions and banks must work to protect not just their own data but secure their platforms and apps on the user’s end as well.

What is the importance of cyber security in the Indian banking industry?

The Banking sector consists of sensitive and critical infrastructure which operates money flow and is central to maintaining the day-to-day financial services in a country. The swift evolution towards digitization has made India a potential market for success in the digital banking sphere while leveraging technologies such as automation and big data. The onset of the pandemic became a catalyst for the BFSI sector to shift operations – this large-scale digitalization that took place in a relatively short span has resulted in cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities more frequently. Attackers are looking to prey on potential victims by bombarding them with malicious malware, bots, and phishing in financial systems.

India has witnessed over 18 million cyber-attacks and threats, with an average of nearly 200,000 threats every day, in the first three months of 2022, according to US-based cyber security firm, Norton. The threats facing the banking sector are continuously evolving and with rapid digitization, attempts made by cybercriminals will only increase. It is important that the financial services sector analyses and understands the types of cyberattacks, their patterns and the threat matrix to defend and be prepared to tackle them while continue operating seamlessly.

How does Juniper Networks’ Advanced Threat Prevention address vulnerabilities in today’s networks?

Juniper’s Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) is the threat intelligence hub for the network, with built-in advanced threat services that use the power of AI to detect threats and optimize enforcement. It prevents evolving threats and malware from bypassing traditional security methods and through the use of AI, becomes increasingly more accurate in detecting these threats. The ATP assesses risk across encrypted and decrypted network traffic from connecting devices, including IoT, and distributes that intelligence throughout the network to stop attacks and drastically decrease the attack surface before a breach occurs.

How does Mist AI drive Risk Profiling to bring network security to the distributed access network edge?

Inadequate network visibility is a very common vulnerability observed in networks that have experienced security breaches. It is impossible to act upon a breach if it is not known what’s happening on the network. Risk Profiling driven by Mist AI brings Juniper Connected Security to the AI-Driven Enterprise and combines real-time actionable threat detection and intelligence with AIOps driven by Mist AI. It provides visibility into threats within the network while enabling policy enforcement at every point of connection. This helps in quickly identifying and reacting to compromised devices, lowering operational costs, and physically locating compromised wireless devices all while improving the overall user experience.

How is Juniper addressing Security at the edge which is critical for the distributed workforce and branches in the Banking sector?

When securing any distributed workforce, cloud-delivered security is not enough. Disrupted visibility from client to workload, security assurance, and a single policy framework is the most important tools to help any organization bridge their current investments with the SASE rollout easily and effectively. With Juniper, they can manage security anywhere and everywhere, on-premises and in the cloud, with unified policy management that follows users, devices, and applications wherever they go.

Juniper Secure Edge provides full-stack Secure Services Edge (SSE) capabilities to protect web, SaaS, and on-premises applications and provide users with consistent and secure access. When combined with Juniper’s AI-Driven SD-WAN, Juniper Secure Edge provides a best-in-class SASE solution that helps deliver seamless and secure end-user experiences that leverage existing architectures and grow with the organization as they expand their SASE footprint.

How is Juniper Networks educating partners and end customers about the latest cyber-attacks?

The increasing adoption of multi-cloud architecture by businesses has resulted in the transition of network infrastructures and applications to the cloud. This has led to an increase in the number of sophisticated cyber-attacks and threats at the behest of organized and well-funded hacking groups. Combined with limited visibility beyond the perimeter and a lack of data correlation between networks, servers, and endpoints, means a need for smarter tools to discover and eradicate such sophisticated cyber-attacks.

Juniper has been constantly striving to deliver superior end-user experiences that are at the forefront of the network by providing security solutions that can detect and safeguard organizations against emerging threats with next-generation firewall services, built-in advance threat prevention and intelligence while extending security to every point of connection on the network.