Raiffeisen Informatik Revolutionizes Cyber Recovery Time with Hitachi Vantara's Technology

In a major advancement for cyber resilience, Raiffeisen Informatik GmbH & Co KG, one of the largest banking IT service providers in Austria, has successfully reduced its mainframe cyber recovery time from an estimated seven days to an impressive two hours. This significant achievement comes through a strategic partnership with Hitachi Vantara, which is renowned for its expertise in data storage and infrastructure management.

The Challenge of Cyber Disruptions

In today's increasingly digital world, financial institutions are constantly under threat from cyberattacks. Raiffeisen Informatik operates a robust IT infrastructure that supports an impressive one billion transactions per month for over 1.25 million customers. However, the potential for a massive disaster—such as an attacker simultaneously destroying all storage systems across data centers—was a significant concern. Prior to implementing their new cyber resiliency architecture, recovering from such a severe incident would have taken about seven days, which is far too long for a banking environment where uptime is critical.

Innovative Solution: Hitachi Vantara's Cyber Resiliency Architecture

In collaboration with Hitachi Vantara, Raiffeisen Informatik deployed a state-of-the-art cyber resiliency architecture utilizing the Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP). This system employs immutable snapshots that facilitate rapid recovery, ensuring that even in the event of total storage loss, recovery could be achieved within two hours. This innovative approach not only shortens the recovery time but also limits potential data loss to a mere two-hour window, a remarkable feat in the banking sector.

Mayer, the Managing Director at Raiffeisen Informatik, highlighted the importance of this improvement: “Without Hitachi Vantara's support, the solution simply wouldn't have worked. Recovering the entire application environment with a consistent data state in just one to two hours is a game changer compared to the days it would have taken with traditional methods.”

Enhanced Data Protection Strategies

The new architecture includes a critical element called an air gap, separating the production storage from the snapshot targets. This separation means that even if an attacker gains administrative access, they cannot see or alter the protected snapshots. Snapshots are created every two hours, ensuring regular and reliable recovery points for the entire application environment.

Furthermore, Raiffeisen Informatik has implemented rigorous testing procedures to ensure the effectiveness of their recovery strategies. They conduct annual tests simulating various severe disruption scenarios, allowing them to validate their recovery protocols under realistic conditions rather than relying solely on theoretical models. This proactive approach underscores the institution's commitment to maintaining operational resilience in the face of potential cyber threats.

Compliance with Regulatory Standards

Another important aspect of this advance is the alignment with the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which mandates stringent business continuity requirements for financial institutions. By drastically reducing recovery times and ensuring robust data protection, Raiffeisen Informatik not only enhances its operational efficiency but also remains compliant with regulatory obligations, vastly mitigating the risk of penalties associated with unplanned outages.

Future Prospects

Looking ahead, Raiffeisen Informatik has expressed its intention to further enhance its mainframe storage capabilities. They have entered into a new agreement to incorporate the VSP One Block High End into their infrastructure, preparing for future performance, resilience, and scalability requirements. Mayer remarked on this ongoing evolution: “Our storage infrastructure needs to keep pace with growing performance demands while providing flexibility to scale. VSP One Block High End gives us that foundation for the next phase of our mainframe strategy.”

In conclusion, the successful implementation of Hitachi Vantara's cyber resiliency solutions has not only revolutionized Raiffeisen Informatik's recovery capabilities but has also provided a substantial competitive edge in an increasingly challenging cyber landscape. Companies in the financial sector can take this as a benchmark for improving their operational resilience and ensuring the safety of their data and services.