Boubyan Bank Replaces Three Legacy Tools with the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform

Boubyan Bank, the third-largest bank in Kuwait and first to embrace a fully digital model, primarily delivers its banking services online. Its trailblazing approach to innovation is evident in its cybersecurity strategy. 

Since 2022, the bank has relied on the AI-native CrowdStrike Falcon® cybersecurity platform, which has transformed its approach to security. Boubyan Bank has replaced three legacy security solutions with the Falcon platform, enhancing endpoint protection while reducing costs and strengthening its overall security posture.

Nikolai Belstein, CISO of Boubyan Bank, is driving this technological evolution. For the past three years, Belstein has championed the bank’s focus on advancing technology while prioritizing security. He understands that investing in digital transformation requires an equally robust investment in cybersecurity to protect the bank’s 2,500 employees and its customers — which is why he relies on CrowdStrike.

When Belstein joined Boubyan Bank in 2021, he inherited a fragmented cybersecurity infrastructure. The bank relied on a wide range of point solutions, including Carbon Black for endpoint security and Trend Micro for antivirus protection, which resulted in significant reliability and performance challenges. Furthermore, Boubyan Bank lacked managed services capable of providing extra support for threat detection and response, leaving critical gaps in its security framework.

The CISO set out to simplify and modernize the bank’s security posture with a unified, cloud-native cybersecurity platform. He initiated a rigorous search for a solution that could protect the people, processes and technologies essential to the bank’s operations while delivering maximum effectiveness from day one.

Belstein and his team evaluated the bank’s existing tools alongside solutions from vendors such as Trellix and McAfee, ultimately selecting the Falcon platform. Powered by AI and world-class threat intelligence, the Falcon platform offers unparalleled protection and a single-agent architecture that allows customers to easily add new protections as their needs change. 

Boubyan Bank implemented the Falcon platform in 2022, starting with CrowdStrike Falcon® Insight for endpoint detection and response (EDR) and CrowdStrike Falcon® Identity Protection. This move enabled the bank to replace three legacy on-premises solutions — reducing costs while elevating its security posture in the process.

Belstein described the deployment of the Falcon platform as "super easy," with a seamless and rapid implementation process. Its automation features worked right out of the box, requiring no extra configuration. 

The benefits were immediate. Beyond reducing costs, consolidating multiple solutions into a single platform streamlined operations and boosted efficiency. The Falcon platform’s built-in machine learning capabilities quickly made an impact and strengthened the bank’s defenses, Belstein said. 

By harnessing the power of AI, the Falcon platform empowered the bank’s security team with instant visibility, enabling proactive threat detection and swift response. Additionally, its EDR capabilities can isolate potentially compromised hosts from network activity to improve the organization’s defense against potential attacks.

“A strong case for CrowdStrike is you have only one agent and you can enable a new module and ‘voila,’ it’s done. Buy a new policy and within a couple of minutes, it’s deployed,” Belstein noted.

After a transformative first year with the Falcon platform, Boubyan Bank took its cybersecurity to the next level by integrating the industry’s most elite threat responders: CrowdStrike Falcon® OverWatch and CrowdStrike Falcon® Complete Next-Gen MDR services. These enhancements have dramatically bolstered the bank’s defenses, ensuring a level of protection that sets a benchmark for excellence.

Falcon OverWatch delivers 24/7 threat hunting and response so the bank can address potential dangers before they cause damage. Meanwhile, Falcon Complete acts as an extension of Boubyan Bank’s security team, providing unparalleled expertise in monitoring, threat investigation, rapid response and full-cycle remediation. With these capabilities, the bank has added industry-leading experts to proactively counteract even the most sophisticated cyberattacks.

“The ease of use of the Falcon platform, combined with the proactive expertise of the Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR team, has ensured rapid incident resolution and empowered our team to focus on strategic initiatives,” concluded Belstein.

By embracing CrowdStrike’s innovative technologies and services, Boubyan Bank has both strengthened its cybersecurity posture and cemented its status as a trailblazer in digital banking innovation. This strategic relationship ensures the bank remains resilient against evolving threats while delivering exceptional value and trust to its customers.