How a fintech start-up is keeping up with cybersecurity risks
UK-based fintech start-up Tembo (formerly Nude) is making home-buying easier and more enjoyable than ever before. The Nude app features tools like government-boosted savings and investment accounts, a property finder feature that shows house prices, and actionable saving ideas and features to assist aspiring homeowners.
To keep up with changing cybersecurity risks, Nude has implemented Promon’s app shielding solution Promon SHIELD™. The deep protection technology from Promon prevents reverse engineering of finance apps, safeguards sensitive data, and protects end-users from sophisticated malware attacks.
Cloned apps on the rise
Recent years have broken all records when it comes to data lost in breaches, and the sheer numbers of cyber attacks on companies, governments and individuals. In addition, the sophistication of threats is increasing as a result of emerging technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and 5G.
Keith Harrison, Head of Software Development at Nude, believes the threat of fake apps, in particular, is on the rise in the banking and payment industry. “App cloning is increasingly becoming a challenge, and the move to full online banking will only strengthen this trend”, he said.
Nude decided to implement an app shielding solution that not only would safeguard their app from repackaging and app cloning, but would also ensure full regulatory compliance and protection against a wide range of other threats.
The users of our app should be confident that their money and data is secure. We also know that a successful hack on our app could be damaging to our reputation, and therefore our business. Once the app is on a user’s phone we can’t rely on the phone’s own security, so we needed a comprehensive app shielding solution to protect it against threats such as keyboard loggers. We also have a regulatory requirement to protect our users from financial fraud.
Keith Harrison, Head of software development at nude
Easy setup and integration
Protecting apps that run within untrusted environments is crucial as mobile, IoT and modern web apps migrate software logic to the client-side. App shielding vendors, however, offer solutions that differ in factors such as features, pricing and compatibility.
Nude were looking for a solution that protected their app, was easy to set up, and could easily be integrated into their CI/CD pipeline. They also wanted to ensure that adding extra security did not impact the app’s performance. “A reduction in app performance can affect onboarding conversion, which is critical for a growing company like ours”, Harrison said. In the end, Nude opted for Promon SHIELD™ due to the easy setup and ease of integration.
“We looked at a number of vendors, but chose Promon as all the staff we dealt with had deep knowledge of the product. We also got to speak directly with the members of Promon’s development team. Having direct access to developers at Promon allowed us to resolve problems quickly”, he said.
Zero support tickets raised
“The integration process was a two-stage process. Firstly, we integrated Promon SHIELD into our build process, which took about an hour. Then, we configured the solution to our requirements, a process that took half an hour with a Promon technician on call. Since we installed Promon SHIELD™ we have done a number of 10-minute upgrades, and overall it has been a great experience”, Harrison said. The less number of support tickets, the better, and so far Nude has not raised one with Promon.
We have been impressed with the in-depth domain knowledge of all Promon staff we have been in touch with. They are really friendly, and have been a pleasure to work with
keith Harrison, head of software development at nude
