Enhancing Transaction Security with Thales PayShield 10K HSM for Abay Bank

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Abay Bank, one of Ethiopia's leading private banks, initiated a strategic security infrastructure upgrade aimed at safeguarding customer data and ensuring compliance with global payment security standards. The bank required a high-performance, PCI HSM v3.0 certified solution capable of supporting the growing volume of secure transactions while maintaining compatibility with existing systems.

The Challenge: Securing Digital Banking Operations

As a rapidly growing financial institution, Abay Bank needed to enhance its security infrastructure to protect sensitive financial data and ensure compliance with international security standards. The primary objectives were to replace legacy HSM infrastructure with a high-throughput, standards-compliant solution while ensuring zero downtime during migration and providing robust encryption, key management, and remote administration features.

The Solution: Advanced HSM Implementation by Symbol Tech

Symbol Technologies was contracted to deliver a complete end-to-end solution that included:

• Supply of Thales PayShield 10K HSMs: Two units (220 TPS each) for production and backup environments, and one unit (60 TPS) dedicated to card personalization operations, including all necessary licenses and clustering support.
• Security & Compliance Features: Implementation of dual hot-swappable power supplies, full PCI HSM v3.0 compliance, and support for key cryptographic standards including RSA, AES, DUKPT, SHA-2, and HMAC.
• Professional Services: Comprehensive site survey, system design, mounting, and configuration, along with seamless key migration from legacy HSMs with zero operational disruption.
• Remote & Centralized Management: Implementation of PayShield Manager and Trusted Management Device (TMD) for remote monitoring and firmware upgrades, including integrated health monitoring and secure audit trails.
• Training & Knowledge Transfer: Technical training for bank personnel covering installation, key management, firmware updates, and performance tuning, along with comprehensive documentation.

The Outcome: Enhanced Security and Operational Efficiency

The successful implementation of the Thales PayShield 10K HSM solution delivered significant benefits to Abay Bank:

• Operational Resilience: Enabled secure, scalable cryptographic operations across all payment channels.
• Regulatory Compliance: Achieved full compliance with PCI PIN, PCI HSM, FIPS, and ISO financial standards.
• Seamless Integration: Ensured legacy application compatibility with no required changes to the bank's switch or mobile banking systems.
• Future-Proofing: Implemented a system designed for scalability, allowing throughput upgrades to 2,500 TPS.

Abay Bank commended Symbol Technologies for delivering a robust and future-ready solution on time and within budget, noting significant improvements in security posture and operational efficiency.