Proximus Luxembourg’s CSIOC

Like many other industries, the life insurance sector must adapt to changing customer behaviours. These new expectations are reflected in particular in the desire for a better customer experience through personalized offerings and an omnichannel approach. In order to provide its clients and partners with new digital tools while keeping risk levels as low as possible, OneLife turned to the Security & Intelligence Operations Center (CSIOC) of Proximus Luxembourg. Nadine Tavolacci, IT Security Officer at OneLife, explains the challenges, approach and benefits.

“Life insurance companies like ours handle large amounts of confidential information,” recalls Nadine Tavolacci. “We therefore need to be able to guarantee the integrity, confidentiality, availability and traceability of this sensitive data to our clients. Furthermore, we must ensure that OneLife maintains its strong reputation within the financial centre as well as its brand image.”

An outsourced CSIOC for 360° security

Achieving these objectives required OneLife to establish the necessary operational capabilities to monitor traffic across the company’s networks and issue appropriate and relevant alerts in the event of an incident. “In addition, we wanted to relieve our IT teams of the responsibility for incident management and allow them to focus on the company’s core activities,” explains Nadine Tavolacci. “We also wanted to ensure uninterrupted security services, benefit from continuous technology monitoring and receive advice in specialized areas,” she adds.

Performance and quality of service

“To effectively outsource such critical services, we needed to find a provider capable of guaranteeing excellent service quality combined with maximum responsiveness,” says Nadine Tavolacci. “The provider needed to demonstrate the capabilities and adaptability required to assess our existing security measures, develop an in-depth understanding of our environments and implement the necessary processes to respond appropriately in the event of a security incident,” she emphasizes. “We found in Proximus Luxembourg a partner capable of meeting the performance and service quality requirements we expected while also respecting our budget constraints.”

In-depth risk analysis

To meet OneLife’s expectations, Proximus Luxembourg’s cybersecurity consultants first conducted a comprehensive analysis of the company’s infrastructure and communications. They then identified potential risk scenarios before categorizing potential incidents based on use cases and priority definitions. An external vulnerability assessment was also carried out to evaluate the exposure of the company’s perimeter infrastructure.

Following this analysis and risk anticipation phase, a rapid escalation mechanism to the Proximus Luxembourg CSIOC team was put in place to ensure that major incidents could be handled effectively. DNS monitoring was also implemented, including typosquatting detection, identification of changes in traffic characteristics and real-time monitoring of indicators of compromise.

To validate the defensive posture of OneLife’s infrastructure and communications, the Proximus Luxembourg team scheduled an annual “Red Team” exercise and conducted a phishing test designed to assess users’ exposure to social engineering risks. Finally, it was agreed that a cybersecurity report would be provided to OneLife’s IT teams every month.

Identifying risks and limiting their impact

“The monthly reports issued by Proximus NXT confirm that an appropriate level of security measures has been implemented,” confirms Nadine Tavolacci. “The security hardware and tools we use have been approved by Proximus Luxembourg. The most critical data has been clearly identified and is protected with particular attention. The CSIOC now enables us to identify threats and risks at an early stage and limit their potential impact,” she continues. “The advice provided by Proximus Luxembourg also enables us to apply patches and updates appropriately.”

Highly responsive support

Through the Proximus Luxembourg CSIOC, OneLife now benefits from the support of a team of around twenty cybersecurity specialists. Based in Luxembourg, the team provides 360° coverage, 24/7, across three levels of expertise. It relies on highly experienced specialists capable of analysing large volumes of information to identify unusual behaviours. These insights feed into new detection scenarios, accompanied by a remediation plan tailored to the actual situation.

“The Proximus Luxembourg team is highly responsive,” confirms Nadine Tavolacci. “The cybersecurity specialists are ready to intervene at any time to contain and manage incidents that may arise. They support us in implementing the recommended measures, whether this involves modifying certain configurations, setting up a firewall rule or applying security patches.”

Developing a cybersecurity culture

“From the broader perspective of information security management,” adds Nadine Tavolacci, “we follow the best practices recommended by the ISO 27002 standard and, in the longer term, aim to implement the requirements of the ISO 27001 certification standard. We regularly organize cybersecurity awareness sessions for our employees, as well as training on the operational implications of the GDPR. Proximus Luxembourg provides us with significant support in pursuing our objective of continuously strengthening our cybersecurity capabilities,” she concludes.