Strategy and Solutions
The client was a mid-sized credit union with over 300,000 members and $2.8 billion in assets under management. With rising member expectations for digital-first banking and increasing cyber threats, leadership recognized the need for a comprehensive modernization of their IT infrastructure.
The credit union operated on a hybrid mix of on-premises systems and third-party SaaS applications. However, its infrastructure lacked scalability, advanced threat detection, and consistent access governance. Cyberattacks targeting financial institutions had doubled in frequency, and the client had already experienced several intrusion attempts—fortunately thwarted, but close enough to trigger an immediate action plan.
The credit union partnered with Zymr to implement a comprehensive digital transformation and cybersecurity enhancement program, integrating infrastructure modernization, zero-trust security, and operational resilience to deliver secure, 24/7 digital banking services.
This was not a simple upgrade—it was a top-down transformation that would define the credit union’s security posture and digital agility for the next decade.
The engagement began with a holistic assessment of the client’s infrastructure, processes, and security posture. Multiple systemic challenges were identified across technical, operational, and regulatory dimensions.
The client’s network architecture had evolved organically over time. Critical workloads spanned different environments—some on legacy VMware clusters, others in disparate cloud services—without unified monitoring or centralized governance.
Security tools existed but were siloed. Endpoint protection operated independently from email security, and there was no integrated SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) platform to correlate alerts across systems.
The credit union’s IT team faced frequent intrusion attempts and phishing campaigns targeting both employees and members. Security logs revealed multiple instances of attempted lateral movement across servers.
Periodic audits revealed lapses in encryption, vendor risk management, and the enforcement of multi-factor authentication. The credit union risked non-compliance with FFIEC and NCUA guidelines.
The legacy infrastructure couldn’t handle transaction spikes during high-volume events such as payroll cycles or loan disbursement days. Performance degradation directly impacted the member experience.
The credit union’s IT ecosystem was functional but fragile. Modernization was essential not only for compliance and performance, but for survival in a digital-first, threat-rich financial environment.
Partnering with Zymr empowered the credit union to move from a reactive IT posture to a proactive, secure, and scalable digital enterprise. With zero-trust controls, continuous monitoring, and automated compliance, the institution became a benchmark for digital trust in the cooperative banking sector.
In essence, this project demonstrated how modern financial institutions can balance regulatory rigor with digital agility—turning cybersecurity from a constraint into a catalyst for growth.
Within ten months, the credit union achieved measurable transformation across security, performance, and compliance benchmarks.
Operational Resilience
Cybersecurity Posture
Compliance Success
Digital Banking Enablement
The credit union not only strengthened its defenses but also unlocked digital growth potential—securing trust, efficiency, and innovation across every channel.
Zymr designed and executed a three-phase transformation roadmap centered around security, scalability, and compliance.
Zymr began by consolidating the client’s hybrid environment into a unified, cloud-enabled architecture.
Network topology was restructured with software-defined networking (SDN) to support granular access control, traffic segmentation, and faster provisioning.
The modernization phase created a secure, high-performance foundation for the credit union’s digital operations—turning scattered legacy infrastructure into a cohesive, scalable ecosystem.
Zymr implemented a zero-trust architecture across the entire organization, ensuring that no user or device was implicitly trusted.
In addition, Zymr deployed Data Loss Prevention (DLP) controls to safeguard personally identifiable information (PII) and implemented automated incident response playbooks to ensure immediate containment in case of compromise.
By embedding zero-trust principles into every access layer, Zymr fortified the credit union’s defense perimeter—transforming reactive cybersecurity into predictive resilience.
To sustain the improved security posture, Zymr implemented continuous compliance monitoring and automation across the IT stack.
Zymr also implemented a resilience framework with active-active disaster recovery using Azure Site Recovery, ensuring uninterrupted service continuity even in the event of cyberattacks or natural disruptions.
This phase ensured the transformation was sustainable, measurable, and continuously aligned with evolving compliance mandates—an operational maturity leap for the credit union’s IT team.
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