Customer Story: MTC Federal Credit Union

MTC Federal Credit Union

MTC Federal Credit Union is a South Carolina-based financial institution that provides a wide range of services, including loans and digital banking solutions. The credit union invests in modern technology to protect member data and ensure reliable, around-the-clock access to its services.

Challenge: Pairing Sophos With SIEM Capabilities

Mark Mazzaferro had been with MTC Federal for several years after transitioning from an MSP role that previously supported the credit union. Now, as VP of IT, he oversees a four-person team and manages all aspects of the organization’s technology, including cybersecurity, infrastructure, and overall IT operations.

Mazzaferro began exploring SIEM solutions after both the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) exam and a third-party IT audit recommended implementing one. He evaluated several options, including ManageEngine, which offered customization and flexibility but required extensive manual configuration and maintenance, something his small IT team didn’t have the capacity to manage.

As a certified Sophos partner, Mazzaferro had already built out a robust cybersecurity foundation using Sophos XDR, endpoint protection, and 24/7 SOC coverage. While Sophos delivered strong threat detection and response capabilities, it lacked the centralized visibility across the full organizational attack surface that a SIEM provides.

“We needed a SIEM that could provide up-to-the-minute alerting or even split second alerting,” Mazzaferro said. “Sophos handles everything from endpoint detection and response to email and web filtering , but there are certain things it just doesn’t do that fall within a SIEM’s wheelhouse.”

Solution: A Member Driven Technologies (MDT) approved SIEM

Mazzaferro first learned about Blumira through Member Driven Technologies (MDT), a Credit Union Service Organization that manages MTC Federal’s core processing and network infrastructure. MDT recommended Blumira as a preferred SIEM solution, and as an approved partner of MDT, Blumira was a natural fit for MTC Federal’s environment.

“Out of all of the solutions, it was the best option. It was easy to set up and gave us full control and transparency throughout our environment,” Mazzaferro said. “Everything I need is baked right into Blumira. It’s a beautiful platform.”

Blumira’s streamlined onboarding and intuitive interface stood out immediately. With minimal configuration required, the security operations platform provided clear visibility into MTC Federal’s environment from day one without overwhelming Mazzaferro’s small IT team.

“I’ve used SIEMs where you had to create a separate folder in Outlook just to dump alerts in because they would literally send thousands each day. It was all just noise and junk,” Mazzaferro said.

Instead of burdening MTC Federal’s team with constant, low-value notifications, Blumira delivered alerts that were both relevant and actionable, giving the team greater control over what they needed to see.

“I'm really happy with the way the alerts come through. I can tailor everything, set up filtering, and control what I see so there's not too much noise,” Mazzaferro said.

Blumira’s detection filters give small teams the flexibility to fine-tune alerts, helping reduce alert fatigue and stay focused on what really matters. Blumira also integrated easily with key systems in MTC Federal’s tech stack, including Sophos, Microsoft 365 Defender, Mimecast, and Duo Security.

“[Blumira] allows us to focus on the stuff that needs to be done. When something truly anomalous occurs, that's when we get an alert from Blumira, and that's exactly what I want,” Mazzaferro said.

Real ROI, Real Fast

For MTC Federal’s executive leadership, a key factor in choosing Blumira was demonstrating a clear return on investment (ROI).

“The big thing is numbers. It comes down to being able to demonstrate a positive return on investment and prove that [Blumira] could help us avoid reputational, operational, and financial risk,” Mazzaferro said

“During onboarding, Blumira instantly alerted us to an anomaly and tied it in with Sophos. I jumped into Sophos and within just a few minutes it was taken care of,” Mazzaferro said. “It was great to see the security tools working together and allowed us to respond to something instantly.”

“Being able to show the ROI and return on maintenance (ROM) upfront helped get the product in place. Then, halfway through onboarding, [Blumira] caught something that could have escalated. The alert let us respond quickly and reinforced the ROM for our EVP,” Mazzaferro said.