Cato SASE Cloud secures networking of Bank Avera locations and its mobile employees

In the name Avera, the Italian words “avere” (to have) and “vera” (real) merge. The name means “to have the real thing”. Thus, the bank is characterized by personalized advice, a holistic approach and individually tailored financial solutions. For Bank Avera, it is very important that the locations are well, stably and securely networked.

Challenge

Bank Avera had previously relied on outsourcing its IT infrastructure. It was an important part of the business strategy to take the reins back into its own hands and run IT services in-house. Important factors for this decision were flexibility, visibility and security across all networks and sites. The systems had to be unified and interconnected. Different variants were evaluated and tested for the networking. Since the system had to run on its own and no infrastructure had to be purchased, the ready-made solution SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) was chosen.

The main requirements from Bank Avera’s point of view were:

• Protect Bank Avera’s mobile users from threats on all devices.
• Manage access to all corporate data according to the corporate policies uniformly on one platform
• Ensure short latency and acceleration of bandwidth at all bank locations
• Ensure secure Internet access for all Bank Avera branches and for home use
• Secure and accelerate general access to cloud services

Solution

Cato’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution was found to be a global, cloud-native platform that runs a converged software stack to provide an adaptable and secure network service.

Cato SASE Cloud’s security engines are delivered as part of the cloud service. No additional equipment had to be purchased or configured for Bank Avera’s requirements. Cato provides Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), Secure Web Gateway (SWG) with URL filtering, anti-malware service and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) services.

Important aspects were the optimization and encryption of data traffic (WAN) between sites, which are integral parts of the network software stack. The Cato solution uses TCP proxies and quality of services algorithms to maximize the speed of file transfers.

Cato Sockets, Cato’s edge SD-WAN device, leverages multiple Internet lines to provide reliable, high-performance access to the globally available Cato SASE Cloud. Traffic can also be routed to third-party devices via IP-sec tunnels.

Result: The best solution for all Bank Avera locations.

Cato’s solution has significantly contributed to the stability and security of the networked Bank Avera sites and relieves the burden on the systems. Services that were previously outsourced can now be automated in-house. Existing VPN connections were replaced with Cato.

Overall, complexity was reduced, uptime increased and processes simplified. The simple integration of the solution made it possible to increase visibility. The IT department can take over the configuration of the arbitrarily scalable solution itself. New users, an increase in bandwidth and additional locations can be easily integrated.

The bank integrated the new and better WAN solution within a very short time. In short, the IT management is very satisfied with Cato’s security solution and can guarantee their employees the stability and security of the systems.

Success Story Published on 25th November 2021 on https://www.inseya.ch/de/kunden/bank-avera