Avoiding Compliance Penalties Through Enhanced Cybersecurity Maturity

Overview

A regional credit union engaged us to assess their cybersecurity maturity against NIST CSF 2.0 and identify risks. We delivered an actionable roadmap and deep insights to strengthen controls, prioritize mitigation, and advance program maturity.

Problem

• Assess Cybersecurity Posture: Baseline assessment to identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement.

• Align with NIST CSF 2.0: Set maturity goals across across Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover functions.

• Optimize Without Growth: Identify opportunities to improve cybersecurity domains without significantly increasing headcount.

Solution

ImagineX conducted a holistic assessment of cybersecurity practices, evaluating people, processes, and technology against NIST CSF 2.0 and benchmarking against peer financial institutions. Over three months, we identified where communication and ownership were breaking down, discussed pain points and ambiguity in processes, and worked to align internal initiatives to long-term organization goals.

Outcome

• We developed a detailed 90+ page report along with an executive/board level summary, identifying 22 key recommendations to achieve their target maturity level. 

• Presented our findings and recommendations to the executive committee and board of directors.

• Created a three-year pragmatic roadmap and implementation plan to meet and exceed their target maturity while accounting for current resource capacity.

Completed NIST CSF 2.0 Evaluation

• Govern

  Governance structures, roles, and policies are clearly defined and aligned with business strategy and compliance requirements.

• Identify

  The client gained clear visibility of assets, data, and risks, enabling prioritized cybersecurity decisions aligned with goals.

• Protect

  Safeguards like access controls and data protection were confirmed, ensuring secure operations and reducing cyber threat expos.

• Detect

  Monitoring and alerting systems effectively detect unusual activities promptly, supporting fast identification of security incidents.

• Respond

  Response plans enable quick containment, root cause analysis, and clear communication during cybersecurity incidents.

• Recover

  Recovery processes support fast restoration of services while integrating lessons learned to improve future resilience.

Actions Taken

• 59 Documents Reviewed

• 21 Stakeholder Reviews

• 12 Interviews Conducted

• 106 Controls Assessed

• 10 Workshops Conducted

• 22 Recommendations