Low-Latency, High-Integrity Infrastructure for Trading, Payments & Risk
Financial services demand speed, security, and proof.
SolveForce builds and runs networks, security, cloud, and data platforms for banks, broker-dealers, asset managers, payment processors, and fintechs that are Zero-Trust by default, latency-engineered where it matters, and auditable against PCI DSS, SOX, GLBA/FFIEC, SOC 2/ISO 27001, SWIFT CSCF, PSD2.
Connective tissue:
🛡️ Security → /cybersecurity • 🧠 AI → /solveforce-ai • 🧭 Network → /networks-and-data-centers • 🌐 Connectivity → /connectivity
☁️ Cloud → /cloud • 🔀 SD-WAN → /sd-wan • 🚪 NAC → /nac • 🔐 ZTNA → /ztna • 🛡️ SASE → /sase
💾 Continuity → /cloud-backup • /backup-immutability • /draas
🧮 Data → /data-warehouse • /etl-elt • /vector-databases
🎯 Outcomes (Why SolveForce for Finance)
- Deterministic latency & resilience — engineered paths for trading/market data; measured SLOs for payments/core banking.
- Zero-Trust everywhere — identity-, device-, and workload-aware policy across branch, campus, DC, cloud, and edge.
- Proven compliance — encryption, DLP, key custody, immutable logs/backups, and exportable evidence for audits.
- Fraud & risk ready — near-real-time data pipelines, feature stores, and guarded RAG with provenance.
- Vendor & third-party control — brokered access with ZTNA, session recording, and least privilege.
🧭 Who We Serve
- Retail/Commercial Banks, Credit Unions, Neobanks/Fintechs
- Broker-Dealers, Asset/Wealth Managers, Hedge Funds, Market Makers
- Card Issuers/Acquirers, Payment Gateways/Processors
🧱 Core Capabilities (Spelled Out)
- Trading & Market Data Fabrics — wavelength/L1 or lit Ethernet with fixed FEC; Anycast front doors for APIs; BGP policy for hot/cold-potato. → /wavelength • /lit-fiber • /bgp-management
- Payments Networks — dual underlays (fiber + LTE/5G) with SD-WAN SLO steering; PCI-scoped segmentation; WAF/Bot for carding defense. → /sd-wan • /waf
- Branch & Campus — 802.1X/NAC, posture checks, ZTNA per-app; microsegmentation for teller/workstation vs guest/IoT. → /nac • /ztna • /microsegmentation
- Cloud & On-Ramps — ExpressRoute/Direct Connect/Interconnect with deterministic latency; policy-as-code; KMS/HSM custody. → /direct-connect • /key-management
- Data & AI — FDX/ISO 20022/Kafka/CDC → lakehouse; dbt/SQL ELT; vector DB with “cite-or-refuse”; feature stores for fraud/Risk. → /etl-elt • /data-warehouse • /vector-databases
💳 PCI DSS & Payment Flows (Concrete Controls)
- CDE enclave — VRF + microsegmentation; L7 allowlists; POS lanes QoS EF.
- Encryption — TLS/mTLS/IPsec/MACsec/L1; PAN tokenization; keys in HSM/KMS (dual control, KMIP). → /encryption • /key-management
- Boundary — WAF/Bot for stuffing/carding/scraping; DDoS stance; signed URLs for media/API. → /waf • /ddos
- Evidence — CDE access/logs/configs to SIEM with WORM options; SOAR playbooks for auto-contain. → /siem-soar
📈 Trading & Low-Latency Patterns
- DCI — metro waves or dark fiber; fixed optics & FEC profile; jumbo MTU; PTP time discipline. → /dark-fiber
- Routing — BGP communities; Anycast withdraw on health; policy pinning for golden prefixes. → /bgp-management
- Security — MACsec/L1 crypto where mandated; ZTNA/PAM for admin planes. → /pam
Latency guardrails (targets): venue↔DC ≤ 0.5–2.0 ms metro one-way; intra-DC leaf↔leaf ≤ 10–50 µs.
🔐 Security & Compliance (Finance-Specific)
- SOX/GLBA/FFIEC — logical access, change management, immutable audit; SIEM/SOAR with case evidence.
- SWIFT CSCF — strong perimeter, 2FA, logging, malware controls, integrity.
- PSD2/UK-OpenBanking — API security, consent, rate limits; HMAC/JWS signing; DLP for PII.
- SOC 2 / ISO 27001 — controls mapped; monthly reports and auditor packs.
Zero-Trust components: IAM/SSO/MFA, device posture (MDM/UEM + EDR), ZTNA/SASE for users, NAC on port, microseg for workloads, vault-managed secrets.
→ /iam • /mdm • /mdr-xdr • /sase • /secrets-management
💾 Ransomware & Continuity
- Immutable backups (object lock, MFA Delete, air-gapped accounts), clean-point catalog, DRaaS runbooks; quarterly drills with artifacts.
→ /backup-immutability • /cloud-backup • /draas
📐 SLO Guardrails (Finance Workloads)
| Service / KPI (p95 unless noted) | Target (Recommended) |
|---|---|
| Market data DC↔venue (one-way metro) | ≤ 0.5–2.0 ms |
| Payments auth round-trip | ≤ 120–250 ms (issuer/acquirer path) |
| Branch WAN availability | ≥ 99.95% (dual underlays) |
| API gateway latency (in-region) | ≤ 10–30 ms |
| ZTNA attach time | ≤ 1–3 s |
| CDE encryption coverage | = 100% |
| Backup immutability coverage (Tier-1) | = 100% |
| Evidence completeness (Sev-1/2) | = 100% (logs, approvals, artifacts) |
SLO breaches auto-open tickets and trigger SOAR (reroute, scale, rollback, revoke). → /siem-soar
🛠️ Reference Architectures (Pick Your Fit)
A) Card Issuer/Acquirer (PCI Enclave + SD-WAN)
Dual underlays; POS QoS lanes; PCI CDE microseg; WAF/Bot & DDoS; tokenization; immutable backups.
B) Sell-Side Trading (Low-Latency DCI)
Waves/dark fiber to venues; BGP pinning; MACsec/L1 crypto; PTP; Anycast APIs; DR to secondary metro.
C) Retail Branch Network (Zero-Trust)
802.1X/NAC + posture; ZTNA per app; SD-WAN SLO steering; SASE for web/SaaS; LTE/5G tertiary.
D) Fintech Cloud Core
On-ramps (DX/ER/Interconnect); KMS/HSM for CMKs; microseg; WAF/API security; guarded RAG for support/fraud.
E) Fraud/Risk Analytics
Kafka/CDC → lakehouse; dbt/SQL ELT; feature store; vector DB (guarded, cited); streaming inference.
📊 Observability & Evidence
- Trading/Payments SLO boards, Zero-Trust decisions, WAF/DLP hits, backup/DR artifacts.
- Audit packs: access logs, change diffs, key custody statements, PCI ROC support, SWIFT CSCF evidence.
Streams to SIEM; SOAR automates contain/rollback/report. → /siem-soar
🛠️ Implementation Blueprint (No-Surprise Rollout)
1) Protect surface — trading systems, CDE, core banking, portals/APIs; data classes & tags.
2) Identity & posture — SSO/MFA; device certs; MDM/UEM + EDR baselines; PAM for admins. → /iam • /mdm • /mdr-xdr • /pam
3) Access edge — NAC 802.1X on wired/Wi-Fi; vendor ZTNA; guest isolation. → /nac • /ztna
4) Per-app pathing — SD-WAN policy (loss/latency/jitter, packet dup/FEC); Anycast front doors. → /sd-wan
5) DCI & on-ramps — waves/lit/dark to venues & colos; private interconnects to cloud; BGP policy. → /wavelength • /direct-connect
6) Data & AI — ETL/ELT → warehouse/lake; tokenization; vector search with citations. → /etl-elt • /data-warehouse • /vector-databases
7) Continuity — immutable backups; DR tiers; drills with artifacts. → /backup-immutability • /draas
8) Evidence — SIEM dashboards; SOAR playbooks; monthly compliance health.
✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist
- 🧩 In-scope systems (trading, payments, core banking, portals/APIs).
- 🔐 Identity posture (SSO/MFA), device posture (MDM/UEM + EDR), PAM needs.
- 🧭 Segmentation & network (NAC, SD-WAN, DCI, on-ramps), BGP policy.
- 💳 PCI scope & tokenization; SWIFT/PSD2/FFIEC overlays; audit calendar.
- 💾 Backup/DR tiers, object-lock scope; drill cadence.
- 🧮 Data flows: FDX/ISO 20022/FHIR? ETL/ELT and warehouse; vector/RAG needs.
- 📊 SIEM/SOAR destinations; SLO targets; reporting cadence.
🔄 Where Finance Fits (Recursive View)
1) Grammar — financial traffic rides /connectivity & /networks-and-data-centers.
2) Syntax — delivered via /cloud, CAN/WAN, low-latency DCI, and secure edges.
3) Semantics — /cybersecurity preserves truth; keys/logs/backups prove control.
4) Pragmatics — /solveforce-ai predicts risk/load, suggests routing/policy changes.
5) Foundation — coherent terms via /primacy-of-language.
6) Map — indexed in the /solveforce-codex & /knowledge-hub.
