The document discusses the challenges of implementing security practices at fintech companies that blend aspects of both IT and banking. It notes that while banks have strict regulations and processes, many fintech startups initially neglect security. The document advocates for approaches like identifying and examining systems and traffic, continuous monitoring, and having response plans to balance security and business needs in a rapidly changing environment that combines enterprise and custom technologies.

1. CHAOS MONITORING
Svetlana “Mona“ Arkhipova
Lead Information Security expert , QIWI

2. #:WHOAMI
▸ a.k.a. Mona
▸ Lead infrastructure security expert at QIWI group
▸ Past: security consultant at fintech start-ups, security
analyst at General Electric (GE Capital).

3. TWO TOWERS
▸ Bank way: great amount of approvals, restrictions and
controls
▸ IT way: fast and flexible, basically no technologies
limitations
▸ "There's no spoon"

4. TYPICAL BANK WAY
▸ Limited number of systems and products
▸ Industry regulations
▸ Strict business processes
▸ Security as an initial part of all activities
▸ "Bloody Enterprise"

5. TYPICAL SMALL/MID IT COMPANY: SECURITY...WHAT IS IT?
▸ Most part of companies start thinking about security only
after validated incidents
▸ Security activities performed(or not) by system
administrator
▸ Wide stack of technologies

6. BRAVE NEW WORLD. BETWEEN IT AND BANKING
▸ Strong regulatory requirements from one side
▸ Strong business needs from the other side
▸ Spicy mix of enterprise technologies and in-house
development
AND TYPICAL BANK WAY IS NOT WORKING IN FINTECH

7. OTHER SIDE OF
THE MOON

8. ONLY THE STUPID NEED
ORGANIZATION, THE GENIUS
CONTROLS THE CHAOS!
Albert Einstein

9. COMMON CHALLENGES
▸ In-house development
▸ No strict business processes
▸ Security vs. usability/speed
▸ A bit of necromancy (Very Important Server)

10. BRAND NEW TECHNOLOGY(C)
▸ Dynamically changing environment
▸ Who needs technological stack, this brand new
technology(tm) is our salvation!
▸ App security guide? Devops do not need them.

11. ASSETS AND PROCESSESS
▸ Hardened perimeters
▸ Test labs: this is a test server, there's no need in OS
hardening
▸ Abandoned servers/VDIs/whatever
▸ Network controls?

12. SECURITY VS USABILITY
▸ Application and technology restrtictions
▸ Performance issues
▸ Tonns of logs
▸ A lot of additional work (especially on investigations)

13. WHAT'S NEXT?
▸ Identify
▸ Exmine
▸ Monitor
▸ Respond

14. IDENTIFY
▸ Track all env changes
▸ IT systems is a great source of raw data
▸ Periodical manual checks

15. EXAMINE
▸ Common traffic profiling (OS specific, network specific)
▸ App-specific profiling
▸ Systems interconnection

16. MONITOR
▸ Monitoring is a continuous process
▸ Track logins and network flows
▸ Periodical log sources check
▸ Set up emergency alerts on critical events

17. RESPOND
▸ Action plans on typical incidents
▸ Core analysis
▸ Rules/profiling tuning
▸ False positives and false negatives

18. FALSE (+|-)
▸ “Normal paranormal”
▸ Multiple events in short time range
▸ Traffic controls
▸ Chained events
▸ Events with low rates (APT)
▸ Continious (pen)tests

19. QUESTIONS?
Svetlana Arkhipova
Lead Information Security expert , QIWI
mona@qiwi.ru
monaarkhipova @m0na_sax