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Granite State Credit Union's Gateway to Security

"With CylanceEDGE™, we can provision users on the fly without compromising security. This has greatly improved our resiliency, agility, and performance."
—Tyler Dami, Network Manager, Granite State Credit Union

Granite State Credit Union relied on physical VPN appliances for network security. To empower its remote workers, it needed to replace them—so it turned to BlackBerry. 

Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, Granite State Credit Union (GSCU) employs 138 employees across eight branches to serve 46,000 members. For more than 75 years, the company has operated on a foundation of integrity and innovation—principles core to cybersecurity. 

“We originally used physical appliances to deliver direct access to our network,” explains Tyler Dami, Network Manager at GSCU. “While this system worked, we had several security concerns and deployment to remote staff was challenging.” 

GSCU’s VPN (virtual private network) appliances not only required a separate firewall rule but also needed to be managed on a separate network. This meant finding IP (Internet Protocol) address space and configuring routing for every new deployment. 

On-the-Fly Remote User Provisioning

No More Cumbersome VPN Hardware

Effortless Configuration for End Users

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WFH Limited by VPN

WFH Limited by VPN

“It was hard to lock down devices; each required its own firewall rule,” Dami says. “Our employees had a hard time with all the cables we used to send in our work-from-home kits. This limited who could operate our new interactive teller machines from home. It was clear that we needed a better way to support both customers and remote staff.”  

Putting Their Trust in Zero Trust

“We knew we needed a new solution but didn’t want to compromise on security,” continues Dami. “Since we already had a relationship with BlackBerry through CylanceENDPOINT and CylanceGUARD, we decided to demo its new Zero Trust Network Access solution, CylanceEDGE”

The AI-powered CylanceEDGE would allow GSCU’s remote workforce to establish a secure connection to apps and resources from any device. As part of its proof-of-concept trial, GSCU added a CylanceEDGE connector into its data center, synced users to the CylanceEDGE console, deployed an agent to remote staff, and configured access policies. Most employees were able to complete the setup unassisted — at that point, Granite State Credit Union was convinced.

Easy to Deploy, Easier to Scale and Troubleshoot

Easy to Deploy, Easier to Scale and Troubleshoot

After finalizing its deployment, GSCU integrated CylanceEDGE with another of its existing vendors to add an extra layer of security in the form of push-based, two-factor authentication. With no hardware to purchase, a simple deployment process, and an intuitive end-user interface, CylanceEDGE now exists as a shield between GSCU’s users and its data center. 

“CylanceEDGE was a breeze to deploy and a huge improvement from VPN,” Dami says. “It has allowed us to retire our VPN appliances and greatly expand the number of users capable of supporting our interactive teller machines. It also provides detailed network-level data which helps us troubleshoot filtering issues and gives visibility into threats, all without creating an external attack surface.” 

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

As long as users are authenticated with CylanceEDGE, they can access cloud applications and resources—even during a data center outage. This has allowed Granite State Credit Union to improve its agility, resilience, and network performance, further empowering the company to expand its regional hiring scope to the entire state of New Hampshire. 

“Overall, CylanceEDGE has been an excellent solution for us,” Dami concludes. “It’s cost-effective, it’s easy to deploy, and it’s provided a great user experience for both our staff and our clientele.” 

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Industry

Financial Services

Location

United States

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