How the financial industry is accelerating the implementation of Zero Trust?

In today’s era of rapidly developing digital finance, incidents such as data breaches, ransomware attacks, and account takeovers are occurring with alarming frequency, posing unprecedented cybersecurity challenges for the financial sector. Faced with cross-border compliance issues and increasingly diverse threats, the traditional 'perimeter-based defense' model is no longer sufficient. Following the release of the Zero Trust Implementation Guidelines by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) last year, this year the FSC has gone further by promoting the Financial Cloud Security Monitoring Standards, establishing new security benchmarks for the industry. According to iThome, cybersecurity investment in the financial sector grew by 11.2% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with nearly 40% of institutions beginning to invest in Zero Trust identity and device authentication. Zero Trust is rapidly becoming a core strategy for financial institutions worldwide to strengthen cybersecurity.

Why does the financial industry need to adopt a Zero Trust architecture

"The cybersecurity risks currently facing the financial industry can largely be divided into two dimensions. First, with the widespread adoption of digital office and remote collaboration models, along with the industry’s increasingly close interactions with multiple vendors and partners, the frequency of external collaboration and data exchange has surged. As a result, enterprise boundaries have become increasingly blurred, making it far more difficult to securely manage external members and devices. Secondly, the vulnerabilities within internal environments cannot be overlooked. Once a gap emerges in the enterprise’s cybersecurity defenses, attackers may infiltrate the intranet. Traditional internal networks often lack strict verification and monitoring, creating an issue of 'over-trusting' authorized members and devices. This makes the internal environment the weakest link in the security defense chain.

Reassess cybersecurity policies with a zero-trust mindset

In light of the aforementioned risks and challenges, enterprises should re-examine their internal cybersecurity policies and architectural processes with a zero-trust mindset, focusing on the following three areas:

  1. Outside-in: Reduce the attack surface and increase defense depth.
  2. Inside-out: Expand the protection surface while limiting the impact of potential damage.
  3. Enhanced visibility: Continuous monitoring and verification.

According to the Zero Trust Maturity Model published by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Zero Trust capabilities consist of five pillars: identity, devices, network, applications, and data. Enterprises should gradually implement the core principles of Zero Trust across these domains, including never trust by default, continuous verification, and least-privilege access, evolving from manual configurations to full automation, and shifting from passive security policies to proactive governance. The recommended assessment approach is as follows:

  • Identity: Two-factor authentication (2FA), dynamic attribute-based access control, etc.
  • Devices: Device health and compliance management, such as OS updates and antivirus software updates.
  • Network: End-to-end encrypted transmission, properly segmented network zones, and network connections based on the principle of least privilege.
  • Applications: Security settings for internal and external applications, adhering to the least-privilege principle.
  • Data: Encryption of sensitive data at rest, data loss prevention, and real-time monitoring of data access activities.

Enterprises can start with high-risk areas and ensure the five pillars work in coordination to build a comprehensive security strategy, continuously verifying all users, devices, applications, and access requests. This layered approach makes it harder for attackers to penetrate, helping reduce the risk of attacks and better protecting valuable corporate secrets and data.

Beyond Zero Trust Architecture, 4 Key Focus Areas for Financial Institutions in the Future

  1. The Pros and Cons of AI in Information Security:The emergence of AI has made cyber threats and attack techniques increasingly complex, with numerous AI-driven financial fraud incidents reported in recent years. However, when applied to threat detection, automated response, and vulnerability management, AI can significantly enhance both efficiency and security for enterprises. According to iThome, in 2024, 50% of financial institutions began evaluating the feasibility of generative AI applications in finance, while actively raising employees’ cybersecurity awareness when using AI.
  2. New Regulations on Electronic Signatures and Identity Verification:In response to the expansion of online services, an eKYC-level and business risk mapping has been established. Electronic signatures are now legally equivalent to handwritten signatures, and in the event of private key data leakage or loss, notifications must be issued.
  3. Strengthening Supply Chain Cybersecurity and Compliance Risk Management:Financial institutions work with numerous vendors and often face cybersecurity challenges, including lack of information transparency, multi-layered outsourcing, and insufficient security budgets. These issues can create security gaps and hidden risks. Establishing secure data exchange mechanisms and comprehensive activity tracking is essential to ensure cybersecurity compliance and prevent supply chain data risks from impacting business operations.
  4. Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) ChallengesPQC refers to encryption algorithms designed to withstand attacks from large-scale quantum computers. Although such quantum computers are still under development, the "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" (HNDL) threat model means that organizations must begin planning for a quantum-safe future immediately. Financial sectors in countries including the United States, Japan, and Singapore have already started initiating PQC migration projects.

OmniStor Responds to Financial Sector Zero-Trust Needs with a “Data-as-the-Perimeter”

ASUS OmniStor Zero-Trust File Management System leverages multiple layers of data security defenses to provide the financial sector—handling vast amounts of sensitive information—with an integrated, centralized data management platform. By addressing hidden internal and external data threats, it delivers applications that combine robust protection with comprehensive audit trails, extending zero-trust principles to every node while enforcing core concepts such as least privilege and continuous verification. OmniStor offers solutions that safeguard both internal and external data, including:

A. Internal Strengthened Controls

  • Integrate member accounts and credentials to enhance login security.
  • Access permissions control to ensure data does not leave the system.
  • Comprehensive activity tracking to ensure compliance and monitoring.

B. External Proactive Defense

  • Data security settings to prevent confidential information from leaking.
  • Encrypted storage and transmission for safer file exchanges.
  • Ransomware detection to halt synchronization upon abnormal behavior.

In addition, ASUS Group recently announced that its independently developed post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithm has officially passed the validation and standardization by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Moving forward, it will be widely integrated across ASUS product lines, providing enterprises and individual users worldwide with cutting-edge quantum-resistant cybersecurity solutions, continuously enhancing the resilience of financial security.

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