Case Study: Enhancing Security with Zabbix and fTLD Registry

A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of a URL that comes after the last dot in a domain name. While most are familiar with the first TLDs of .com, .net, and .org, there are more than 1,400 TLDs. fTLD Registry (fTLD) is a global coalition of banks, insurance companies, and financial services trade associations who ensure the .Bank and .Insurance TLDs are governed in the best interests of the financial sector and their customers.

The challenge

In 2011, fTLD was formed to secure and manage .Bank and .Insurance. Due to the high risk of fraud in the financial sector, keeping domains (websites and email) secure and out of the hands of malicious actors was paramount – and that can’t be done without close, careful security monitoring. fTLD was initially dependent on a monitoring solution that required manual compliance work, which made it difficult to get actionable information to its customers and partners. When they began to seek out a replacement solution, fTLD realized that Zabbix promised exactly the features they required, which prompted them to make the switch.

The solution

For every domain in .Bank and .Insurance that meets minimum technical requirements, Zabbix’s system performs multiple security compliance checks. These checks cover a range of domain security features to ensure .Bank and .Insurance websites and email services have implemented a multi-layered domain defense by way of the Security Requirements required by fTLD. Specifically, Zabbix checks and monitors for:

• Authoritative name servers, which guarantee that the name servers for .Bank and .Insurance websites have the required security features.
• Enhanced DNS security, which involves the proper validation of DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) with strong cryptographic algorithms to prevent unauthorized changes to domain data and cyberattacks, including domain spoofing and domain hijacking.
• Digital identity and robust encryption, which confirm TLS certificates and TLS version requirements for secure web connections and encrypts all communications for the safe and secure transmission of personal information and financial transactions.
• Email security, which increases the deliverability of email and checks for the deployment of DMARC and SPF to protect against phishing and spoofing.

When Zabbix detects an issue, it automatically notifies involved parties, including the registrar and the customer using the domain. As a client, fTLD has access to all the security monitoring data via a custom dashboard. Zabbix puts critical compliance security monitoring information at fTLD’s fingertips, helping them make good on their promise of airtight security for banks, insurers, and producers and their customers through .Bank and .Insurance domains.

The results

Heather Diaz, Vice President, Compliance and Policy, leads the security function for fTLD and attests that:

“With Zabbix as a partner, we have peace of mind knowing that domain security is closely monitored. We can then focus on engaging with customers to help them get the full cyber benefits of using .Bank and .Insurance to protect their brand and their customer data.”

By entrusting Zabbix with security monitoring, fTLD has seen a variety of benefits, including:

• Considerable growth in overall security compliance, as Zabbix monitoring has provided better, more accessible, and more reliable security information.
• A tangible boost in productivity, thanks to automated customer and partner notifications.
• A bird’s-eye view of stats across all domains as well as detailed information for individual domains.
• Adaptive compliance security monitoring through daily checks, which help maintain a proactive defense against cyberattacks.
• Security expertise from Zabbix to ensure that fTLD’s Security Requirements represent best practices and security measures to ensure the security of .Bank and .Insurance domains and their customers’ well-placed trust.

In conclusion

fTLD is changing the way banks, insurers, and producers around the world interact with their customers by offering trusted, verified, more secure domains. They trust Zabbix to guarantee a multi-layered domain defense strategy by alerting fTLD and its customers to detected anomalies or security issues.

To learn more about what Zabbix can do for customers in banking and finance, visit us here.