IT for a financial organization is not just an ordinary office network. A bank, credit organization, insurer or fintech company handles customer money, personal data and transaction history — which makes it both an attractive target for attackers and an area under regulatory oversight. In practice the difference is not one or two antivirus products but a whole approach: a next-gen firewall, precisely written security policies, segmentation of the network, strict control over access, and continuity of service. This article explains, grounded in ONYX's real projects, why IT in the financial sector has to be stronger than average.
Why ordinary IT is not enough for finance
In an ordinary company, if the network goes down, work stops for a few hours. In a financial organization the same event means halted transactions, data exposure and accountability before a regulator — the risk is on an entirely different level.
For that reason a financial company's IT has to be built tighter: the perimeter protected by a modern firewall, the internal network divided into segments, every user given access only to the resources they actually need, and critical systems that do not stop because a single device fails. ONYX combines equipment supply with genuine integration in this field — it does not just bring in hardware from vendors such as Fortinet, Cisco, Checkpoint and Palo Alto, it configures and commissions it correctly. You can review this approach on our services page.
A real project: a Fortinet firewall for a credit organization
The best proof is not theory but work delivered. ONYX rebuilt the perimeter security for a non-bank credit organization operating in Baku.
As part of the project, ONYX deployed a Fortinet FortiGate (FG-201) firewall and configured the security policies to match the organization's needs. This was not simply plugging in a new box — it was a migration from a legacy Cisco ASA firewall to a modern next-gen platform. Such a migration is especially sensitive for financial organizations: the rules must be carried over correctly, no transaction may be interrupted, and the new policies must not repeat the gaps of the old ones.
Why migrating off a legacy firewall demands care
A legacy firewall usually carries rules accumulated over years, many of them no longer needed. Copying them onto a new device as they are means carrying old problems across too. A proper migration requires cleaning up the rules, justifying every permission, and using the capabilities of the new platform — application-level control, threat protection. ONYX carries out migrations with exactly this discipline.
How a financial network should be built
A strong perimeter is the start, but security does not end at the border. The structure inside has to be right too.
Next-gen firewall and tight policies
You need a firewall that governs traffic not only by port but at the application and user level. Every rule should be justified and no unnecessary door left open — in the credit organization project, Fortinet was configured on exactly this logic.
Network segmentation
Payment systems, internal users, servers and the guest network should be separated so that a problem in one segment does not spread across the whole network. In the Aselsan Azerbaijan project, ONYX built a precisely segmented, access-controlled infrastructure with a Checkpoint firewall, Active Directory, and file and mail servers.
Controlled access
Each user should reach only the resources their job requires. Centralized permission management with Active Directory gives a clear answer to who can access what and makes every login traceable.
High availability (HA)
Critical equipment must not sit at a single point. In the Cüdo Federation project, ONYX built firewalls in HA/clustering mode — if one device fails, the other continues the work without interruption.
Secure connectivity between branches
Financial organizations often have several branches, and data has to move between them securely. In the MobilGroup project, ONYX set up a domain, mail, server and site-to-site VPN across branches — a model that suits multi-branch financial networks too: each branch becomes part of one environment, subject to central policies and connected over an encrypted channel. You can read about such solutions on our business solutions page.
Compliance and oversight
The financial sector operates under regulatory requirements, and IT has to meet them in practice: logging of access, protection of data, segmentation and monitoring of events. ONYX does not promise specific legal clauses — instead it builds controlled, traceable infrastructure that you can point to as evidence during an audit. Our own product, Onyx Firewall, is also designed with these needs in mind.
Strengthen your financial organization's IT
ONYX builds next-gen firewall, network segmentation, controlled access and high availability for banks, credit organizations, insurers and fintech — including migration off a legacy firewall. To discuss your project, get in touch with us.