In today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape, financial institutions face mounting pressure to secure their digital infrastructure. The intersection of DDoS attacks, BIN attacks, and 3DS authentication presents a growing challenge for financial institutions, as detailed in Part 1: The Importance of DDoS Protection for ACS Security. As cyber threats evolve in scale and sophistication, the need for robust, real-time protection has never been more critical.

Part 2

Background

This case study revolves around an ACS service provider that plays a pivotal role in the region’s payment ecosystem, primarily serving the Romanian market while maintaining a strong presence in Hungary, Kosovo, Malta, and Serbia. With approximately 73 million authentications processed annually, the provider commands 76% of the Romanian market share—making it a cornerstone of secure digital transactions in the region.

Before implementing Threat Protection, the provider faced frequent and large-scale DDoS attacks that disrupted 2%–5% of monthly authentication transactions. These attacks not only caused downtime but also led to:

  • Slow loading times
  • Interrupted communications
  • Abandoned transactions

The ripple effects were felt across the ecosystem,  impacting issuers, merchants, and cardholders, and diminishing trust in the provider’s reliability.

Enter Threat Protection

In June 2024, the provider launched a three-month trial of Threat Protection, focusing on Layer 4 DDoS mitigation and web application protection. The initial deployment targeted a key server for an Eastern European bank, covering both public web and card network interfaces.

Deployed in less than 24 hours, Threat Protection provided instant protection with zero disruption to operations. Threat Protection quickly proved its value by blocking a massive 500Gbps DDoS attack. The attack, which lasted over 60 seconds, used a flood of PSH-ACK packets to overwhelm the network. Threat Protection’s real-time detection mechanisms, based on traffic volume anomalies and TCP flag anomalies, neutralized the threat effectively. Here is a snapshot of the attack: 

  • ~1.925 billion packets in 3 minutes
  • 500Gbps peak traffic
  • 97.56% of malicious traffic mitigated

Threat Protection's impact on the service provider's authentication success rate is measurable and significant, underscoring the enhanced reliability and performance of the ACS platform post-deployment. 

Why Threat Protection Stands Out

Threat Protection delivered a suite of value-added benefits, outperforming competitors:

  • Comprehensive reporting: Real-time dashboards and expert analysis
  • Dedicated communication channels: Rapid coordination during incidents
  • Fast time-to-market: Seamless, disruption-free deployment

 

This case study demonstrates how proactive investment in advanced threat mitigation can transform a vulnerable infrastructure into a resilient, high-performing platform. For any ACS provider or financial institution navigating today’s threat landscape, Threat Protection offers a proven path to security, stability, and customer trust.

Download the report now for the full case study.