Zero Trust Migration for Mid-Market Fintech

The client, a mid-market fintech company with 500 employees, provides payment processing and lending platforms. With rapid growth came distributed teams: 60% working remotely, with contractors requiring system access.

Threat Landscape: Ransomware targeting financial services, insider risk from remote contractors, and credential-based lateral movement. Traditional perimeter security proved insufficient — VPN access was broadly granted and MFA was optional.

Business Impact: A near-breach incident involved compromised credentials gaining access to customer payment data. Detection time was 2 weeks, with no ability to isolate affected systems quickly. The incident prompted executive mandate for security transformation.

Compliance Drivers: As a payment processor, the client must maintain SOC 2 Type II compliance. Several enterprise customers mandated zero trust validation as part of their vendor risk programs.

Phase 1: Assessment & Planning (Week 1–3)

Comprehensive security assessment across identity, network, and endpoint domains. Identified 847 active users, 1,200+ service accounts, and 45+ integration points requiring re-architecture.

Phase 2: Identity Layer Foundation (Week 4–8)

• Migrated from on-premises Active Directory to Okta with conditional access policies
• Implemented passwordless authentication (FIDO2) for all user accounts
• Enabled mandatory MFA with 7-day grace period for contractors
• Created 12 role-based access groups aligned to business functions
• Configured just-in-time (JIT) privilege escalation via Okta workflows

Phase 3: Endpoint & Detection (Week 9–12)

• Deployed CrowdStrike Falcon on 400+ devices with default-deny host firewall policies
• Configured Splunk Enterprise Security with custom apps for financial services threat detection
• Implemented behavioural analytics on service accounts using Splunk UBA
• Built custom playbooks for automated incident response

Phase 1 - Foundation

The first phase of the solution involved establishing a robust security foundation, including endpoint detection and response, security information and event management, and next-generation firewalls. We implemented CrowdStrike to provide real-time visibility and control over endpoint security, Splunk to provide real-time visibility and control over security incidents, and Palo Alto to provide secure access to sensitive data and systems.

Phase 2 - Core Implementation

The second phase of the solution involved implementing the core components of the Zero Trust architecture, including segmentation, micro-segmentation, and identity-based access control. We implemented CyberArk to provide privileged access management and Duo to provide multi-factor authentication. We also implemented Splunk Enterprise Security to provide real-time visibility and control over security incidents.

Phase 3 - Hardening and Optimization

The third phase of the solution involved hardening and optimizing the security controls and infrastructure, including security orchestration, incident response, and compliance monitoring. We implemented Splunk Phantom to provide security orchestration and incident response capabilities and Splunk Compliance to provide compliance monitoring and reporting capabilities.

Phase 4 - Continuous Monitoring

The final phase of the solution involved establishing continuous monitoring and incident response capabilities, including security monitoring, incident response, and compliance monitoring. We implemented Splunk Enterprise Security to provide real-time visibility and control over security incidents and Splunk Compliance to provide compliance monitoring and reporting capabilities.

Phase 5 - Training and Awareness

The final phase of the solution involved providing training and awareness to end-users on the new security controls and infrastructure. We provided security awareness training and endpoint security training to ensure that end-users were aware of the benefits and risks associated with the new security controls and infrastructure.

• Lateral Movement: 40% reduction in suspicious attempts (847/month → 508/month)
• Detection Speed: MTTD reduced from 14 days to 8 hours for authentication anomalies
• Response Time: Incident containment improved from 4 hours to 45 minutes
• Compliance: 100% privileged account coverage achieved; SOC 2 Type II renewed
• User Impact: MFA adoption reached 100% within 8 weeks; password reset tickets dropped 35%

Business Outcome: Three enterprise customers approved security architecture without additional assessments. Achieved SOC 2 Type II certification, unlocking $2.4M in new enterprise deals.

Zero Trust Architecture: Every access request validated against 12 risk factors — device posture, location, time, user behaviour, and IP reputation. Legacy VPN replaced with continuous verification.

Passwordless Authentication: FIDO2 security keys and biometric verification phased out password use. Service accounts migrated to API token-based authentication with automated rotation.

Behavioural Analytics: Splunk UBA tracked 1,200+ service accounts, catching one insider threat attempting to access customer payment histories outside normal context.

Automation: Playbooks cut routine incident response from 8 hours to 15 minutes — suspicious logins auto-challenged, abnormal file access auto-triggers endpoint quarantine.

Lesson 1: Effective Change Management is Key

Effective change management is critical to the success of any security project. This involves communicating the benefits and risks of the solution to stakeholders and ensuring that everyone is aligned on the project objectives and timelines. In this project, we established a robust change management process that involved regular communication with stakeholders, training and awareness programs, and a governance framework to ensure that the project was on track.

Lesson 2: Security Orchestration is Critical to Incident Response

Security orchestration is critical to incident response, enabling security teams to respond quickly and effectively to security threats. In this project, we implemented Splunk Phantom to provide security orchestration and incident response capabilities, enabling the company to respond quickly and effectively to security threats.

Lesson 3: Continuous Monitoring is Critical to Compliance

Continuous monitoring is critical to compliance, enabling organizations to demonstrate their commitment to data protection and security. In this project, we implemented Splunk Compliance to provide compliance monitoring and reporting capabilities, enabling the company to demonstrate its commitment to data protection and security.