Cybersecurity RESOURCES

A Virginia-based Community Bank, employing 145 people and managing over $700 million in assets, faced a cybersecurity incident when a Russian hacker attempted to exploit a system vulnerability introduced by an external consultant. The bank needed robust, real-time monitoring and detection to prevent future attacks and ensure operational resilience.

Reliant Credit Union, with assets amounting to nearly $700M and a membership of 46,615, sought to enhance their risk management program and streamline compliance and internal audits to achieve a more organized and efficient method of tracking progress and meeting regulatory requirements.

Great Lakes Credit Union (GLCU), located in Bannockburn, Illinois, manages $1.4 billion in assets, serves 111,090 members, and employs approximately 231 people. The credit union faced challenges with disjointed security and risk systems, limited capacity within a small security team, and manual, labor-intensive processes. These issues made it difficult to correlate data for actionable insights and expand cyber event monitoring, leading to inefficiencies in operations and delayed responses to potential threats.

Great Lakes Credit Union (GLCU), located in Bannockburn, Illinois, manages $1.4 billion in assets, serves 111,090 members, and employs approximately 231 people. The credit union faced challenges with disjointed security and risk systems, limited capacity within a small security team, and manual, labor-intensive processes. These issues made it difficult to correlate data for actionable insights and expand cyber event monitoring, leading to inefficiencies in operations and delayed responses to potential threats.

First Financial Bank, headquartered in Abilene, Texas, oversees approximately $14 billion in assets and employs over 1,400 staff across 83 offices. First Financial faced multiple challenges, including inefficient incident monitoring and response, disjointed cybersecurity solutions that led to time-consuming processes, and difficulties in navigating multiple systems to retrieve information during incidents. The bank sought a cyber risk management solution to streamline their ability to manage, monitor, and mitigate cyber events.

A leading Banking as a Service (BaaS) provider, serving over two million accounts and providing disbursement services to more than 750 college and university campuses, struggled with detecting fraudulent accounts. Ineffective processes resulted in undetected financial fraud and high operational costs associated with fund recovery. The organization required a proactive fraud prevention solution to identify and stop fraudulent activity before losses occurred.

With over $8.8 billion in assets, Space Coast Credit Union (SCCU), serves approximately 677,000 members across 67 branches. Prior to their partnership with DefenseStorm, SCCU’s cyber risk management program relied on multiple network monitoring tools, not entirely integrated, which posed challenges in threat detection and reduced the efficiency of their data gathering processes.

Reliant Credit Union, with assets amounting to nearly $700M and a membership of 46,615, serves its community through ten offices and a committed team of 171 employees. As cybersecurity threats became more sophisticated, the credit union faced challenges in managing and mitigating risks effectively. Reliant recognized this urgent need and embarked on a transformative journey to enhance its ability to monitor, manage, and report on cyber events.

Red Rocks Credit Union, with approximately $340 million in assets, 48 employees, and nearly 40,000 members, struggled with manual, time-consuming cybersecurity processes and limited visibility into its security posture. The institution needed improved reporting, direct alert notifications, and adherence to regulatory frameworks such as GLBA and NIST.

Lone Star Credit Union, based in Dallas, Texas, manages $180 million in assets, serves more than 11,000 members, and employs 41 staff. The credit union faced operational inefficiencies due to outdated systems, network issues, and slow servers, all of which hindered productivity and member service quality.

Live Oak Bank, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, employs around 1,015 people and manages assets exceeding $13 billion. As the bank expanded into transaction accounts, it required a real-time monitoring system capable of analyzing transaction and digital activity efficiently to prevent fraud and ensure compliance.

Prevail Bank, located in Medford, Wisconsin, operates with $970 million in assets and 121 employees. The bank’s existing Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution offered limited log coverage and visibility, hindering its ability to monitor systems effectively and respond quickly to potential threats.

NuMark Credit Union, based in Joliet, Illinois, manages approximately $875 million in assets, 172 employees, and serves 62,000 members. With only one in-house system administrator, the institution struggled to manage increasing cyber risk levels using existing tools that lacked sufficient monitoring and response capabilities.

nCIno, a global financial technology company providing a cloud-based bank operating system to more than 1,750 financial institutions, needed an advanced cyber risk management platform to enhance monitoring, anomaly detection, and reporting. The company sought a more efficient solution to improve visibility and response times across its network infrastructure.

Our Community Credit Union, headquartered in Shelton, Washington, manages over $600 million in assets with 107 employees serving about 32,000 members. The credit union needed a comprehensive cyber risk management solution that could provide 24/7 monitoring, compliance support, and quick implementation to align with its growing strategic initiatives.

Members Credit Union, with over $400 million in assets, 117 employees, and 48,000 members, was operating without enough visibility into their systems and did not have the bandwidth to efficiently keep up with the everyday process of cybersecurity monitoring and management. It was simply impossible to manually monitor and keep up with the volume of logs and events their systems were generating. With a goal to find a vendor to support their smaller internal cyber team, Members CU sought a partnership in cyber risk management that could not only assist in monitoring but also provide 24/7/365 support.

First Financial Bank, headquartered in Abilene, Texas, oversees approximately $14 billion in assets and employs over 1,400 staff across 83 offices. First Financial faced multiple challenges, including inefficient incident monitoring and response, disjointed cybersecurity solutions that led to time-consuming processes, and difficulties in navigating multiple systems to retrieve information during incidents. The bank sought a cyber risk management solution to streamline their ability to manage, monitor, and mitigate cyber events.

First Bank Elk River, located in Minnesota, manages over $360 million in assets with 46 employees serving nearly 5,000 customers. The institution’s previous cybersecurity provider failed to deliver reliable and streamlined reporting capabilities, hindering its ability to meet regulatory and security monitoring needs efficiently.

When 89-year-old Victoria (Canada) resident picked up the phone, the caller ID displayed: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Fraud Department. What followed was a months-long deception that ended with nearly $1.7 million in cash, bank drafts, and gold gone.

As you prepare for the holidays, it’s important to remember that cybercriminals are preparing too! Now is the perfect time to strengthen your cybersecurity! Here are some important tips to keep your data and devices safe while you enjoy the holidays!

Canvas Credit Union, based in Lone Tree, Colorado, serves over 300,000 members and holds more than $4 billion in assets. The institution faced the challenge of demonstrating continuous and comprehensive cybersecurity oversight. It needed a system capable of aggregating and analyzing log and firewall data around the clock to ensure account safety and compliance confidence.

Citizens National Bank of Texas, headquartered in Waxahachie, manages more than $1.9 billion in assets with a staff of 159 employees. The bank struggled with limited internal cybersecurity expertise, which left it vulnerable to threats. It needed improved detection, monitoring, and reporting capabilities to reduce risks and enhance visibility across its digital environment.

Axos Bank, headquartered in San Diego, California, employs approximately 1,375 people and manages over $23 billion in assets. The bank faced challenges with a previous cybersecurity provider that lacked attention to detail and operated inefficient global processes that were not customized for the bank’s specific needs. This lack of tailored service led to inefficiencies and vulnerabilities across its digital infrastructure.

DEXSTA Federal Credit Union, based in Wilmington, Delaware, holds over $400 million in assets, has 68 employees, and serves more than 35,000 members. Following network and architectural innovations that created new vulnerabilities, DEXSTA engaged PureIT to evaluate cybersecurity solutions. The goal was to ensure that the bank’s systems remained protected during its modernization efforts.

Community West Credit Union, located in Kentwood, Michigan, operates with approximately $250 million in assets, 65 employees, and around 19,000 members. In early 2021, Community West CU was preparing for an examination that would elevate them to the next peer group. Faced with the challenges of having only two personnel managing their security, numerous disjointed systems, and impending reporting obligations, they recognized the need for a more efficient cybersecurity solution.

Boards demand clarity on security, proof, and risk. Learn how banking-specific MDR delivers the metrics, evidence, and insight CISOs need to lead with confidence.

Discover how tabletop exercises turn your financial institution’s incident response plan into real-world readiness, ensuring your team is prepared to protect trust, minimize chaos, and respond confidently when every second counts.

Year after year, the data tells the same story: people remain the prime target in cyberattacks. Now, with attackers using AI to clone voices and craft convincing scams, the human element has become both our greatest risk and greatest opportunity. That’s why we’re revisiting the article, “The Human Firewall: Strengthening the Weakest Link in Cybersecurity,”  because the strongest defense in 2025 is still built on the collaboration of technology, culture, and leadership to strengthen the human firewall.

Great Lakes Credit Union (GLCU), located in Bannockburn, Illinois, manages $1.4 billion in assets, serves 111,090 members, and employs approximately 231 people. The credit union faced challenges with disjointed security and risk systems, limited capacity within a small security team, and manual, labor-intensive processes. These issues made it difficult to correlate data for actionable insights and expand cyber event monitoring, leading to inefficiencies in operations and delayed responses to potential threats.