The Client

An international financial institution operating in digital banking, with a distributed architecture (on-premises + cloud) and strict regulatory requirements (EBA, KNF, DORA). The organization was running several transformation initiatives in parallel, increasing the complexity of the environment and exposure to cyber risk.

The problem

An internal audit revealed gaps in vulnerability management, security monitoring, and incident response readiness. While some processes existed, they were inconsistent across infrastructure, application, and security teams.

The key challenges

Key challenges included:

• lack of a consistent vulnerability management strategy in a hybrid environment,
• limited real-time visibility into threats,
• inconsistent incident response procedures,
• increasing regulatory requirements related to reporting and operational resilience.

The management board expected a rapid improvement in cybersecurity maturity without expanding the permanent organizational structure.

The solution

Within a consulting model, we engaged two senior experts:

• Cybersecurity Architect
• Incident Response & SOC Consultant

The project was divided into two parallel workstreams.

Architectural stream
The Cybersecurity Architect conducted an assessment of the current security architecture, including network segmentation, access control, identity management, and cloud environment security. A target security model was developed, including:

• a unified vulnerability management process,
• recommendations for hardening critical systems,
• a risk reporting model aligned with regulatory requirements.

Operational stream
The Incident Response & SOC Consultant was responsible for:

• reviewing and optimizing monitoring processes (SIEM and detection use cases),
• reducing incident detection and response times,
• developing and testing an incident response plan (including tabletop exercises),
• supporting teams during real security incidents.

The project also included workshops with technical and managerial staff and the preparation of an 18-month security maturity improvement roadmap.

The conclusions

• Standardized vulnerability management processes across the organization.
• Over 30% reduction in incident detection time (MTTD).
• A clearly defined incident response and escalation model.
• Preparation of the organization for regulatory audits without major non-compliances.
• Increased cybersecurity maturity without building a large dedicated security department.

The client achieved a measurable improvement in operational resilience and established a coherent cybersecurity strategy supporting further digital transformation.