There seems to be a new cyber threat every day, and Visa Inc. is doing its best to stay up to date.
Visa and FireEye Inc. have launched a new service for the payments industry called Visa Threat Intelligence, Powered by FireEye. This service will deliver real-time threat information on cyberattacks to merchants and issuers.
Visa Threat Intelligence is the first product available as part of a new global strategic partnership between Visa and FireEye. Beginning late 2015, subscribers will gain access to a Web portal that provides the latest proprietary cyberintelligence relevant to payment systems, including alerts, trends in cyberattacks, and forensic analysis from recent data breaches.
"Each week, merchants and card issuers receive thousands of alerts about possible cyber-attacks, making it difficult to know which ones to focus on," said Mark Nelsen, senior VP of risk products and business intelligence, Visa Inc. "Visa Threat Intelligence removes the noise by assessing hundreds of threat indicators and serving-up the most important and timely information. Users can then isolate and address those threats that are the most pressing and potentially damaging to their business and customers."
Users can also take advantage of APIs that can automatically feed threat indicator data into their own security systems. A premium offering will grant access to advanced tools, powered by FireEye virtual execution engine technology, that analyze and isolate malicious indicators from malware to identify suspicious activity from IP addresses and domains.
In addition, Visa Threat Intelligence will provide a secure platform where clients can form communities and exchange real-time threat intelligence. In early 2016, the partnership is expected to roll out additional solutions to identify malicious communications and recommend remediation steps based on activity in the network, as well as infection rates across the network.
Cyberattacks are not going away, and even the most fervent EMV advocates acknowledge it is only partial protection against specific types of payment card attacks and fraud. Other financial services providers and security technology companies will likely offer their own proprietary services and solutions as criminals continue evolving their methods in response to new developments in cybersecurity.