Wasa Kredit
Wasa Kredit is the länsförsäkringar group’s financial company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Länsförsäkringar Bank. Wasa Kredit offers loans and financing solutions for individuals and entrepreneurs.
Email, an attack vector that requires more than standard protection
Wasa Kredit is a financial company that offers leasing and installment financing both through partners in areas such as vehicle sales, computer/office sales, and machinery sales, as well as directly to corporate clients. Wasa Kredit also offers loans and credit cards to individuals.
Wasa Kredit is part of the Länsförsäkringsgruppen and has offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Växjö, Umeå, and Örebro.
We believe, like many others, that email is one of the biggest threat vectors for delivering malware, phishing, or other malicious software. We felt it was worth investing extra resources and money in an email protection solution beyond the standard.
Cybersecurity is a top priority
Cybersecurity is a top priority at Wasa Kredit, where they continuously revise their internal security controls in parallel with environmental analyses that follow the constantly changing cyber threats. Since email still constitutes the most common attack vector for both opportunistic and targeted attacks, this vector is under scrutiny and carefully examined by Wasa Kredit.
In consultation with security partner NetNordic, Wasa Kredit decided to review the organization’s email protection based on the multifaceted threat landscape. This included sophisticated malware, links to exploit kits, authentication phishing, and BEC (Business Email Compromise).
Alongside protective functionality, powerful and intuitive administration and visibility through quick search and reporting tools were required. The solution’s ability to demonstrate which individuals in the organization are most vulnerable to attack attempts, as well as the types of threats these individuals face, was also on the requirement list. In other words, the solution needed to be strongly user-centered and ideally include additions to enhance cyber awareness.
A cybersecurity solution focused on targeted attacks against our users
NetNordic helped Wasa Kredit evaluate and implement email protection from Proofpoint, a recognized premium player in cybersecurity. Significant for the solution is its focus and functionality on targeted attacks, referred to as TAP (Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection). TAP stops both known and previously unseen email attacks. The technology detects and blocks so-called polymorphic malware and utilizes AI/ML technology to identify and stop BEC attacks and other fraud attempts. The methodology of protecting the email recipient, or rather the person targeted by the attack, is exemplified by the reporting function Very Attacked People. Through VAP reporting, there is an opportunity to inform and guide individuals who are exposed to targeted attacks.
A crucial feature missing in standard protection is the ability to automatically recall already delivered emails if they are later identified as malicious. Threat Response Auto-Pull (TRAP) automates the process by recalling and quarantining malicious emails associated with campaigns that were not known at the time of delivery or authentication phishing that activates only after delivery. Automation, integration with an ecosystem of other security protections, and administrative efficiency with reporting that ensures visibility were criteria that ultimately influenced Wasa Kredit’s choice of protection.
NetNordic assists Wasa Kredit with delivery, operation, and development support in email security.
A re-evaluation that yielded results, a strategic security protection
Many believe that the best protection solutions operate effectively without making too much noise. This was also the outcome after the implementation of the new email protection. What was truly a radical difference was the ability to see and act on targeted attacks against specific employees (VAP). Being able to inform and guide those who are actually most vulnerable may seem obvious, but most protections have not been designed that way. The fact that the protection stops attacks that would have passed traditional antivirus and reputation checks in standard solutions is quite evident. The solution is integrated with other security infrastructure at Wasa Kredit for enhanced security controls, and automation implemented to recall delivered emails that turn out to be malicious (TRAP) makes a significant difference. The reporting ensures a digital acknowledgment of the protection’s actual function and effectiveness. As a player in the financial industry with strong cybersecurity requirements, security work is continuous and balanced between strong technical protections and awareness-raising efforts for employees.
We see it as a strong preventive protection; nothing must get through. We operate in the financial sector, and there are a lot of frauds beyond just malware and regular phishing. We invest heavily in informing and educating our users through internal phishing campaigns. To increase awareness among our users, we measure this continuously, and we have seen very good outcomes in employee awareness. We also have those referred to as VAPs (Very Attacked Persons) in Proofpoint, typically the management team, but for us, it includes the CEO, CFO, and others in leadership positions who are especially vulnerable, and we can also see this in the statistics; they are the ones who receive these highly targeted fraud and phishing emails.