Case Study

Fukuoka Financial Group Advances Digital Transformation and Deploys Netskope to Achieve Zero Trust in Development

Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. (FFG), Japan’s largest wide-area regional financial institution based in Kyushu, is actively advancing digital transformation initiatives with the goal of creating a “prosperous regional society.” FFG’s digital transformation is built on in-house development led by the System Solutions Department within the Digital Transformation Promotion Division. The department has implemented the cloud-based security platform Netskope, achieving zero trust in its in-house development environment. By balancing security and usability, the group strengthens digital touchpoints with customers and supports operational transformation.

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Recognized in “Digital Transformation Stocks 2025” and Building an Agile In-House Development Framework

Established in April 2007, FFG contributes to regional growth together with the community. Centered around Fukuoka Bank, Kumamoto Bank, Juhachi-Shinwa Bank, Fukuoka Chuo Bank, and Japan’s first digital bank “Minna no Ginko,” the group integrates diverse capabilities including securities, credit cards, and consulting to revitalize regional communities. In April 2025, FFG established a new philosophy, defining its values as “Your number one.” and its purpose as “Bringing genuine prosperity to the region with forward-thinking ideas.”

To realize this philosophy, FFG actively promotes digital transformation. Owing to its advanced initiatives, FFG was selected as the only regional financial group in “Digital Transformation Stocks 2025.” This marks the third time it has been chosen for this recognition*.

Digital transformation at FFG is grounded in in-house development. Tatsuya Negami, General Manager of the System Solutions Department in the Digital Transformation Promotion Division, explains “in vendor-dependent system development, it is difficult to quickly respond to changes in customer needs and digital technologies. FFG aims to build a highly agile development framework that can flexibly adapt to internal and external changes. We develop systems in-house for strengthening digital touchpoints—such as personal banking apps and the BIZSHIP business portal—as well as shared operational systems across the group banks.”

The department has introduced hybrid work to improve productivity and accommodate diverse workstyles. With the rapid growth of in-house development members, the key challenge became balancing security with usability.

*Digital Transformation Stocks: A program led by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), selecting publicly listed companies that demonstrate excellence in digital transformation initiatives.

Using several products complicates operations. Netskope provides CASB as well as Cloud Firewall (CFW) and other essential capabilities in one platform, helping simplify operations.

Kohei Nawata, Digital Transformation Promotion Division, System Solutions Department, Expert
Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc.

Ensuring Both Security and Usability and Choosing Netskope for Comprehensive Zero-Trust Capabilities

The department provides development PCs to in-house developers. Traditionally, for remote work, managed routers were loaned and placed under personal home routers to ensure security. PC management and access control were performed through an SWG (Secure Web Gateway) via VPN.

Regarding the challenges of the previous environment, Kohei Nawata, Expert in the System Solutions Department, explains “Today, our in-house development team consists of nearly 200 members. Due to rapid growth, we could no longer procure managed routers fast enough. Also, our traditional SWG, constrained by strict financial-industry security requirements, could not identify or control tenants—meaning that even useful development services were sometimes not allowed.”

To balance security and usability, the department shifted its focus to zero trust, which assumes that no access is trusted by default. After narrowing candidates to several products and conducting a year-long PoC (proof of concept), the department selected Netskope’s cloud-based security platform.

Explaining the decision, Fumihiro Yamamura of the System Solutions Department states “Netskope had a clear advantage in CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) capabilities, which visualize and control access to cloud services. Because it allows granular control of actions such as file uploads and downloads, we can reduce information-leakage risks while expanding the range of services developers can safely use.”

Achieving zero trust requires multiple services and capabilities. “Using several products complicates operations. Netskope provides CASB as well as Cloud Firewall (CFW) and other essential capabilities in one platform, helping simplify operations. It also offers many options we can enable later when needed. Another key point was its support for both MacOS and Windows, with rapid compatibility for OS version updates,” says Nawata.

With Netskope, we can now separate what we can change autonomously and what still requires prior approval, enabling faster response and reducing IT management workload.

Fumihiro Yamamura, Digital Transformation Promotion Division, System Solutions Department, Expert
Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc.

Enhancing Network Protection with CFW and DNS Security and Progressing Toward Full-Scale Deployment

At the end of 2023, the team conducted additional validation assuming Netskope deployment. Along with functional testing, optional features were considered. ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) and Extended RBI—which enables browser operation in remote environments—were added. To further strengthen network-layer security, CFW and DNS (Domain Name System) Security were also added, enabling a home-working environment without managed routers. The department reviewed alignment with security requirements and coordinated with relevant divisions.

In July 2024, FFG officially decided to deploy Netskope. User rollout began in phases in October 2024. “Each team uses different development tools and environments, so we conducted migration testing with selected early users in each team. When issues such as service access limitations arose, we addressed them through ACL (Access Control List) adjustments and operational refinements. Since the Netskope configuration was also done in-house, we gained experience and knowledge that will help streamline future operations and enhancements,” says Nawata.

With Netskope, we can ensure financial-grade security while enabling engineers to use the latest technologies. By safely leveraging cloud services and AI tools under Netskope control, we aim to improve development efficiency.

Tatsuya Negami, Digital Transformation Promotion Division, System Solutions Department, General Manager
Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc.

Unified Security Policies Strengthen Protection, Improve Development Speed, and Support Engineer Retention

In March 2025, the migration to Netskope was completed, marking a major transformation in the department’s development environment. For remote work, development PCs with the Netskope agent installed connect directly to home routers, and all communication from the PCs goes through Netskope. “The key point is that the same policies apply inside and outside the office, ensuring security anytime, anywhere,” says Yamamura.

This improvement has also contributed to faster development. “When using the internal SWG, policy changes requested by engineers required submitting applications to the IT management department. Because our development involves many services, our requests were extremely frequent, placing a burden on IT management. With Netskope, we can now separate what we can change autonomously and what still requires prior approval, enabling faster response and reducing IT management workload. Full migration to Netskope has also improved network performance,” says Yamamura.

Endpoint security in development environments has also been enhanced. “Many vendors can detect and block suspicious communication after it begins. Netskope determines this at the domain level and blocks suspicious communication before it starts. It also enforces login blocking for unauthorized services, helping eliminate shadow IT,” says Nawata.

Regarding future initiatives, Nawata adds “we are also testing options such as Advanced UEBA, which scores user-specific risk, and Advanced DLP, a comprehensive data-protection solution. We aim to implement even more advanced controls.”

On the significance of deploying Netskope, Negami adds “in hiring and retaining engineers, the development environment is a key factor. With Netskope, we can ensure financial-grade security while enabling engineers to use the latest technologies. By safely leveraging cloud services and AI tools under Netskope control, we aim to improve development efficiency.”

Building a zero-trust environment with Netskope supports FFG’s in-house development and accelerates digital transformation across the organization.

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