A1 and BNB-Bank have implemented a project aiming to transform the bank's IT systems and are entering into cooperation in the field of cybersecurity | News | About company

A1 and BNB-Bank have implemented a project aiming to transform the bank's IT systems and are entering into cooperation in the field of cybersecurity

A1, the provider of telecom, ICT and content services, and BNB-Bank finished a joint bank infrastructure digitalization project. Further cooperation focuses on cybersecurity.

A1 company acted as a partner of BNB-Bank in implementing its digital transformation strategy and updating the infrastructure of information systems. As part of the project, a new ecosystem was created for the functioning of the bank’s IT infrastructure based on the priorities of the bank’s internal network fault tolerance and the high interaction speed between departments regardless of their location.

 

"As a telecom and ICT services provider, A1 sees as its task the creation and development of the infrastructure necessary for the digital transformation of various areas of our lives. We approach this task strategically by creating unique ICT ecosystems for our partners. They are capable of making the business as efficient, mobile and secure as possible in line with present-day conditions. In cooperation with BNB-Bank, we are working on the implementation of solutions that will provide the highest degree of information security, which is fully consistent with both the national concept of information security and the priorities of the economy digitalization,"  Robert Dashyan, Deputy General Director of A1 Company Corporate Segment Development, stated.

As part of the joint project, extensive work has been carried out on an independent audit of the bank's IT systems, which included consultations with the management of the bank and its departments, as well as designated employees of the IT and information security department.

 

The backup data processing center of BNB-Bank is located in the A1 data center, which is certified by the Operational and Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus, meets the ISO 27001:2013 information security standard, and also has a PCI DSS certificate confirming the security of customer infrastructure and the protection of information in banking sector. The level of reliability and fault tolerance of the A1 data center is 99.982%.

In the process of creating an ecosystem of the bank's ICT infrastructure, experts developed a unique engineering design and introduced a number of large-scale solutions that significantly increase the manageability and efficiency of the bank:

  • two-site configuration of the data processing center operating in Active-Active mode;
  • server hardware upgrades; 
  • unification of the bank’s divisions into a single virtual data transmission network via fiber-optic communication lines, which helped set up operational management and interaction between the head office, structural divisions and the A1 data center;
  • ActiveCluster’s innovative solution on improving the fault tolerance is a fully symmetric, consolidated data repository with two-way Active-Active replication.

 

A1 and BNB-Bank also signed a memorandum regarding the next stage of cooperation in the field of digital transformation. It will focus primarily on cybersecurity.

"Further implementation of the digital transformation strategy by the Bank and the cooperation with A1 will enable the implementation of technologies and innovative solutions that are in line with the best international practices and standards. This will improve customer service and qualitatively change the prevailing notion of financial services, as well as provide high competitive capability and operational reliability. Our priorities, which include convenience, reliability and security, made A1 our strategic partner of choice for the digital transformation of our ICT infrastructure,"  Mikhail Zalevsky, Deputy General Director of BNB-Bank, stated.

"The digital transformation of the banking sector provides numerous benefits for consumers of financial services, increases the quality, speed and accessibility of services and significantly improves the interactions between financial services consumers and financial organizations. At the same time, certain risks are associated with it. That is why today we need integrated solutions capable of providing not only a high level of banking business processes digitalization, but also reliable protection against cyber threats. The proposed project is in line with the trend of the digital economy development and increase in the effectiveness of modern financial instruments,"  Dmitry Kalechits, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, emphasized at the presentation.

 

The future of the banking sector is currently developing along the path of mastering and implementing advanced technologies aimed at developing the digital environment. The project implemented jointly by BNB-Bank and A1 company is an example of how these technologies can be successfully implemented today.