au Kabucom Securities Uses Akamai’s Cloud Security To Reduce Costs and Create a Flexible Working Environment While Keeping a High Level of Security

Akamai Technologies GK (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Osamu Yamano) has announced that au Kabucom Securities Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Masakatsu Saito) has implemented Enterprise Application Access (EAA), Akamai’s cloud-based remote access management solution, as well as Enterprise Threat Protector (ETP), Akamai’s DNS-based solution against targeted attacks. This has strengthened au Kabucom’s defense against targeted attacks, while simultaneously reducing its operations workload.

au Kabucom, which is Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s dedicated online securities company, has set out “cutting-edge technology and diversity first” as its management vision. The company offers a variety of services, always continuing to pursue digital transformation. By insourcing both its front-end and back-end systems, the company has developed a distinctive service with high operating efficiency.

EAA improves access control efficiency, strengthening security while reducing costs

au Kabucom has promoted zero trust security, as this enables staff to work safely and securely as if they are in the office, anywhere and anytime. However, the VPN they currently use to provide secure remote access is both complex and costly. The company began to notice the limits of this VPN in delivering their cloud-focused service, and adopted EAA as a more optimal system. By implementing EAA, internal and public cloud access control has been made more efficient, and authentication, licensing and encrypted communications all use zero trust access to deliver a more secure remote access service. Additionally, simplification of the cloud access flow has helped to reduce bandwidth costs and the cost of investing in VPN hardware.

Tackling malware and phishing with ETP

Financial institutions have always been highly conscious of cyber security, and au Kabucom is constantly looking to improve its security measures. As threats to security become more refined and sophisticated, the company has implemented ETP as a high-level defense against malware and phishing. Implementing this service allows the company to use Akamai’s threat intelligence service, CSI (Cloud Security Intelligence), providing increased protection against malware infection. The daily work of updating malicious domains is automated, greatly reducing the operations burden. It is hoped that in the future, cyber-attack protection will be offered to mobile users using the ETP client software.

Implementing DevSecOps

In order for au Kabucom to provide a secure, high-quality service with the speed demanded of a dedicated online company, the firm is aiming to implement DevSecOps to incorporate security elements from the very beginning of system development and operation. The company will continue working to improve security and the competitiveness of its business by actively adopting new technologies.

EAA and ETP have garnered praise for the following points.

• More secure remote access
  • Unified management of all access points, split between on-premises and the public cloud
  • The latest protection against cyber attacks using Akamai’s threat intelligence
• Reduced cost of bandwidth and equipment investment
  • Simplification of cloud access flow
  • No need to install or update on-premises VPN devices or firewall
• Provides a high level of protection against malware and phishing
  • Higher coverage rate for suspicious addresses than competitors’ reputation filter services

“Given the nature of our business, we have to maintain strict security controls, but we also cannot afford to sacrifice service quality or speed,” says Yoichi Ishikawa, Head of System Risk Management at au Kabucom. “Adopting a global service infrastructure like Akamai’s Enterprise Application Access and Threat Protector means we can drive the business forward with peace of mind while guaranteeing a high level of security.”

“I’m delighted that a consistently cutting-edge company like au Kabucom, which has weathered tough changes through its enduring diversity, has chosen to adopt EAA and ETP,” says Akamai’s president, Osamu Yamano. “As more and more businesses expand via the web and hope to give their customers a smooth user experience, countermeasures against increasingly sophisticated security threats are in high demand. I am certain that Akamai will continue to play an ever more critical role in meeting requirements such as these. Akamai serves its customers by delivering ever faster, safer and more stable Internet solutions.”

Enterprise Application Access product overview.

Enterprise Threat Protector product overview.

About Akamai Technologies GK:

Akamai Technologies GK is the wholly owned Japanese subsidiary of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (Corporate Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Chief Executive Officer: Tom Leighton), which was founded in 1998. Akamai provides all-purpose solutions for website/mobile app optimization, comfortable user experiences, and solid security. Around 600 companies in Japan use Akamai’s services.

Note: “Akamai” and the Akamai logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Akamai Technologies Inc.
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