Telenor Microfinance Secures Email Stack Against AI Cyber Threats with Next-Gen In-Workflow Analysis and Training

The Customer

Telenor Microfinance Bank is a cutting-edge financial institution, known for its hightech innovations, particularly its AI-driven solutions and digital finance tools. With 3,500 employees, it offers advanced financial services, including the widely successful mobile money platform Easypaisa, which has transformed digital transactions and financial accessibility in Asia.

The Challenge

SOC Overload 

The SOC was overloaded by the volume of suspicious emails landing in their users’ inboxes. These attacks consistently bypassed their Secure Email Gateway and native Office 365 E5 defenses and required constant, in-depth manual triage. Both their inboxes and users remained vulnerable to AI generated phishing and browser-based threats.

Ineffective Training 

Users were being assessed using out of date phishing simulations based on templates. Telenor needed to understand how their users would respond to the ‘next threat’ unknown to the Telenor SOC or other security vendors. This is a critical part of building true cyber resilience.

Threat Visibility Gap 

The team lacked visibility into how users were being targeted by AI-Generated, preweaponized threats, making it difficult to build effective cyber resilience programs and provide detailed reports on the evolving threat landscape. Additionally, they needed to assess and report on how users were responding to the everchanging, AI-driven threat environment.

The Solution

Simplified Email Triage 

StrongestLayer's integration streamlined email management for the SOC, helping identify high-risk messages and protect users from phishing and web-based threats.

Real-Time AI Threat Detection

AI-powered threat analysis provided instant insights within user workflows, delivering actionable intelligence to mitigate risks before they escalated.

Next-Gen Response Assessment  

Automated phishing simulations trained employees to detect evolving threats, improving Telenor Microfinance’s human layer security.

StrongestLayer: AI-Powered Email Defense

StrongestLayer was deployed as a comprehensive solution to address Telenor Microfinance’s email security and human risk challenges. With CyberGuard integrated into employees' workflows, the platform simplified email triage for the SOC, identifying high-risk messages and safeguarding users from phishing and browser-based threats. 

StrongestLayer’s AI-powered detection provided real-time analysis of threats within a user’s workflow and delivered actionable threat intelligence to mitigate risks before they could escalate. 

The platform also introduced automated, threat intelligence-driven phishing simulations to train employees and test their ability to detect future phishing attempts, further enhancing the bank's human layer security. By integrating CyberGuard into the email workflow, Telenor Microfinance effectively reduced the risks from both email and web threats.

The Results

Strengthened Defense Against Advanced Email Threats 

Significant boost in ability to combat suspicious emails that bypass the Secure Email Gateway, streamlining SOC email triage in the process. 

Improved SOC Visibility and Cyber Resilience Reporting

Improved visibility into targeted attacks, enabling the SOC team to identify at risk users and report cyber resilience continuously to leadership.

Enhanced Employee Cyber Resilience Through Realistic Phishing Simulations

 Increased employee resilience to cyber threats through realistic, forward-looking phishing simulations and interaction with the inworkflow assistant 

Conclusion

By adopting StrongestLayer, Telenor Microfinance effectively closed the gaps in their email security systems, significantly reducing the risks posed by email and browser-based threats. With the CyberGuard Plugin safeguarding their users, the bank gained critical visibility into AI generated, targeted threats while empowering employees to act as a first line of defense. 

StrongestLayer not only improved their immediate email security but also fostered a culture of security awareness through continuous user training and threat simulations.

Testimonial

"We are thoroughly impressed with StrongestLayer and highly recommend them to any organization looking to strengthen their defenses against phishing attacks. Their focus on human layer security demonstrates a deep understanding of the critical role individuals play in an organization's overall security. 

StrongestLayer’s detection and threat intelligence capabilities are outstanding. They consistently identify and mitigate malicious, phishing, and risky emails with impressive accuracy. Their advanced AI-driven phishing campaigns are both highly effective and realistic! We are loving StrongestLayer!"

 — Khizar Rajpoot, Information Security Expert, Telenor Microfinance Bank

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