Dark Arts Limited CEO: Local, no-retention software is now the standard for financial services
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / As AI-powered cyber threats continue to escalate in 2025, financial services firms are facing unprecedented risks tied to third-party software providers. Andrew Stanford, CEO of Dark Arts Limited, today highlighted why his firm now recommends Iron Software’s IronPDF for document processing in sensitive client projects-citing its no-retained-data model as a critical differentiator from cloud-based or AI-integrated solutions.
“For APAC banks, the real risk isn’t just hackers-it’s regulators. A breach or mishandled dataset can mean millions in fines,” said Cameron Rimington, CEO of Iron Software.
That risk is not hypothetical. In August 2025, Australia’s privacy regulator filed a landmark lawsuit against Optus over a 2022 data breach impacting 9.5 million customers, with potential fines reaching A$2.2 million per individual record.
Cyber threats are also surging globally. In 2024, banks worldwide bore average data breach costs of US $6.08 million per incident, and between 2020-2024, financial institutions lost around US $2.5 billion to cyberattacks.
Why Local Data Processing Matters in 2025
Stanford emphasized how AI has shifted the cyber threat landscape:
“In the past, script-kiddies needed coding skills. Now AI lowers that barrier-anyone can launch sophisticated attacks. One overlooked software can cascade risk across entire systems.”
Unlike cloud-dependent competitors, IronPDF processes documents entirely on-premises, whether through HTML-to-PDF conversion, generating reports, or enabling developers to create and edit PDFs securely inside enterprise applications. In highly regulated sectors, this data sovereignty-first model is rapidly becoming essential.
Practical Security in High-Stakes Environments
Dark Arts Limited secures core finance platforms, modernizes loan systems, and performs code-level audits for credit bureaus and other high-risk clients. Stanford noted:
“We’ve seen clients burned by tools that quietly send data off for AI ‘enhancements’ or require cloud connectivity to function. IronPDF takes the opposite approach: all .NET PDF operations, including creation and editing, stay fully within customer systems.”
Rimington adds:
“Observations about AI lowering the barrier for cyber attackers perfectly illustrates why enterprises can’t afford software that transmits data externally. Every external connection is now a potential AI-enhanced attack vector. Our zero-retention architecture eliminates that entire category of risk.”
Momentum Toward Zero-Retention Software
IronPDF’s adoption reflects a broader industry shift. While giants like Google and Microsoft are now offering air-gapped deployment options, Iron Software built its suite on this principle from the start.
Stanford contrasted IronPDF with other PDF libraries like Apryse, Aspose, and Syncfusion-acknowledging their power but pointing out their complexity and potential risks in sensitive environments. By contrast, IronPDF delivers the same developer functionality-HTML-to-PDF conversion, PDF creation, and PDF editing in C#/.NET-without ever transmitting customer data.
Looking Ahead: The Zero-Trust Era
As APAC financial institutions brace for stricter data sovereignty laws expected in Q4 2025, the message from cybersecurity experts is clear: the era of trusting third-party data handling is over.
For Iron Software, this shift represents validation of a decade-long bet on local-first architecture. The company reports a 340% increase in enterprise inquiries from APAC financial institutions in 2025 alone.
“When a single mishandled PDF can trigger a A$2.2 million fine, the math is simple,” Rimington notes. “Every byte that leaves your premises is a liability. Every byte that stays is under your control.”
Rimington sees the current regulatory environment as just the beginning: “Australia’s Optus case is sending shockwaves through boardrooms. We’re fielding calls from CTOs who are auditing every single piece of software in their stack, asking ‘Does this phone home?’ The answer better be no.”
The Iron Software CEO predicts a fundamental restructuring of enterprise software procurement: “In 2020, companies asked for SOC 2 compliance. In 2023, they wanted AI features. In 2025, they’re demanding air-gapped capability. By 2026, I expect zero-retention architecture will be table stakes for any software touching financial data.”
As one senior risk officer at a major Australian bank recently told Dark Arts during an audit: “We used to worry about hackers getting in. Now we worry about our own software sending data out.”
In 2025, that worry has a solution-and increasingly, only one acceptable answer.
About Iron Software
Iron Software is a leading developer of enterprise-grade document processing and data handling libraries for .NET and C# applications. Founded on the principle that sensitive data should never leave customer environments, Iron Software has built a comprehensive suite of tools-including IronPDF, IronOCR, IronXL, and IronBarcode-that operate entirely on-premises with zero data retention.
The company specializes in providing secure, high-performance document processing solutions for regulated industries, including financial services, healthcare, government, and enterprise organizations where data sovereignty is critical. Iron Software’s flagship product, IronPDF, enables developers to create, edit, and convert PDF documents within their own infrastructure, eliminating the security risks associated with cloud-dependent alternatives.
With over a decade of experience serving Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, Iron Software has established itself as a trusted partner for organizations that cannot compromise on data security.
About Dark Arts Limited
Dark Arts Limited is a New Zealand-based cybersecurity consultancy specializing in financial system rescue, modernization, and security remediation across APAC. The firm helps financial services organizations transform critical platforms into secure, resilient systems that meet modern cyber- and regulatory challenges.
Citations
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Australia’s Optus lawsuit: 9.5M customer breach; up to A$2.2M per record (Reuters)
CONTACT:
Anne Lazarakis
anne.lazarakis@ironsoftware.com
+66917242008
SOURCE: Iron Software
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