Vodafone, a major player in global mobile communications spanning 26 countries and 55 partner regions, has strengthened its fraud prevention capabilities through a collaboration with RiverSafe.
The telecom giant initially approached RiverSafe to enhance its monitoring systems, revealing significant blind spots in their existing setup. Jake Francis, Head of Technology Security at Vodafone's Information Security Technology Group (ISTG) in Ghana, led the initiative to address these challenges.
Enhancing Monitoring Systems
Previously utilizing Splunk for over two years, Vodafone Ghana's critical operational systems, including Bluecoat, VPN, email servers, routers, switches, and firewalls, remained insufficiently monitored.
This missing element in their security infrastructure created vulnerabilities that could be exploited for fraudulent purposes. "There were gaps or loopholes which create opportunities for theft," stated Jake Francis, emphasizing the risk these weaknesses posed.
Real-Time Fraud Detection
The need for a robust anti-fraud solution became evident, particularly within Ghana's prepaid market
The need for a robust anti-fraud solution became evident, particularly within Ghana's prepaid market, where ensuring the authenticity of data usage and payments is critical.
Francis highlighted instances of fraudulent activities arising from retail outlets, necessitating an urgent resolution. Recognizing the absence of a Splunk app designed to mitigate internal fraud, Vodafone sought RiverSafe's expertise to devise a bespoke solution.
Developing a Tailored Solution
In response, RiverSafe crafted targeted scripts and analytics tailored to Vodafone Ghana's requirements. This initiative included a comprehensive review of existing log management scripts and logic, aligning them with documented use cases and consumer reporting needs.
These enhancements crucially support the Revenue Assurance team's efforts to reconcile revenue growth accurately.
Proactive Fraud Management
The access to detailed forensic data empowers the ISTG to aid other units in addressing internal fraud risks
With the integration of advanced criteria, metrics, and reporting tools, Vodafone now possesses a sophisticated understanding of fraud trends. The access to detailed forensic data empowers the ISTG to aid other departments in addressing internal fraud risks.
Jake Francis stated, "Now I can store all this information in my server and go back and write a script against these logs to find out what’s happened if I believe there’s an issue. This enables us to look out for possible trends and scenarios. Now we’re being proactive, not just reactive."
Expansion and Future Plans
The success of the anti-fraud app has prompted its deployment across other Vodafone Ghana offices and plans for broader implementation throughout Vodafone's operations in Africa and Asia. These regions, characterized by significant prepaid market presence, stand to benefit substantially from these advancements.
Jake praised RiverSafe, noting, "RiverSafe helped us to meet our security audit requirements… now we’re being proactive, not just reactive. The team has been terrific and their expertise and support has been second to none." The partnership underscores Vodafone's commitment to pioneering enhanced security measures in its vast network.
Operating in 26 countries, with partnerships in 55 more, Vodafone is one of the world’s pioneering mobile communications providers. The company made the first-ever mobile phone call on 1 January 1985, and now delivers mobile communications to almost 444 million customers.
Jake Francis, Head of Technology Security for the Information Security Technology Group (ISTG) for Vodafone in Ghana, initially approached RiverSafe to help with some log monitoring.
Team’s monitoring processes
The company had been using Splunk in its environment for two years. While some of Vodafone Ghana’s systems were being analysed by Splunk, many crucial systems including Bluecoat, VPN, email servers, routers and switches and firewall logs were not—leaving blind spots in the team’s monitoring processes and leaving them unable to see the complete picture.
“There were gaps or loopholes which create opportunities for theft,” Jake explains. “These can then be easily manipulated by those who understand where they are and how to penetrate them.”
Real-time anti-fraud capability
Jake added: “Every transaction that goes onto the system needs to be vetted to make sure that it’s a legitimate transaction. This is especially important in Ghana where we operate a prepaid market and need to ensure that authorization for data and payments are legitimate.”
“For example, if a customer has paid for one gigabit of data then this is what should be issued to their account. What we found, however, was that some of the retail shops were raising fraudulent claims. We now have the ability to see this more easily.”
Jake realised that Vodafone needed better real-time anti-fraud capability in order to prevent internal fraud between Vodafone’s retail stores and its back office systems. “We found that there wasn’t a Splunk app available to combat internal fraud,” recalls Jake, “and we needed this so that we could effectively reconcile revenue.”
The solution
To tackle this costly action, Jake again turned to RiverSafe to develop a new anti-fraud app. RiverSafe developed scripts and analytics that would address Vodafone Ghana’s unique needs. This additional layer of checks and balances is particularly crucial in Ghana, where the IT and telco infrastructure is developing and often underserved.
RiverSafe also reviewed Vodafone’s existing log management scripts, including configured searches and logic. This data was then mapped to documented use cases and consumer requirement reporting, enabling the company’s Revenue Assurance team could verify revenue growth against usage.
The outcome
With RiverSafe’s help, Vodafone have now implemented bespoke new criteria, metrics, analytics and reporting around fraud trends. The team now also has access to in-depth forensic data so that the ISTG can assist other departments with any internal fraud issues.
“Now I can store all this information in my server and go back and write a script against these logs to find out what’s happened if I believe there’s an issue. This enables us to look out for possible trends and scenarios. Now we’re being proactive, not just reactive, and helping the fraud department with reconciliation and revenue assurance.”
Other parts of Vodafone
The anti-fraud app is now being rolled out to other Vodafone Ghana offices, with plans to implement it in other parts of Vodafone in Africa and Asia, where there is also a large prepaid market.
“RiverSafe helped us to meet our security audit requirements… now we’re being proactive, not just reactive. The team has been terrific and their expertise and support has been second to none,” Jake Francis, Head of Technology Security for the Information Security Technology Group (ISTG) Vodafone.
