Cybersecurity in Credit Unions: Why Confidence Still Lags Behind Effort

Most credit unions are taking action on cybersecurity. Risk assessments are happening, tools are in place, and leadership teams are engaged.

Still, many executives aren't confident their credit union is as secure as it needs to be. That tension between effort and assurance is one of the most important signals emerging across credit union cybersecurity today. It suggests the challenge isn't awareness. It's alignment.

To better understand what's working, what's stalling, and where risk concentrates, SBS CyberSecurity surveyed credit union professionals across the industry. The results reveal a familiar story: progress in many areas, paired with gaps leadership teams can't afford to ignore.

Curious how your credit union compares? Download the State of Cybersecurity in Credit Unions: 2025 Executive Report for executive-level data, benchmarks, and actionable trends across the industry.

Frequent Assessments Don't Automatically Equal Clarity

Risk assessments have become routine for most credit unions. Annual reviews are common, and nearly half assess risks quarterly or more often.

That cadence matters. But without clear interpretation and context, it doesn't always translate into meaningful insight.

A notable portion of surveyed credit unions still rate their cybersecurity posture as average or weak, even with regular assessments in place. For executives, this raises a critical question: Are assessments surfacing the right risks or just producing reports?

When assessments focus on coverage rather than impact, they can overlook how threats would actually affect operations, members, or reputation. Over time, that disconnect undermines confidence — not because teams aren't working hard but because leadership lacks clear insight into what truly matters.

Leadership Structure Shapes Cyber Outcomes

Cybersecurity programs rarely fail in a single moment. They erode gradually through unclear ownership, inconsistent follow-through, and uneven accountability.

The survey shows that most credit unions still don't have a dedicated in-house cybersecurity leader. Responsibility is often added to an already full plate or outsourced entirely. While those models can work, they tend to make long-term coordination harder, especially when it comes to training, readiness, and decision-making.

At its core, cybersecurity functions as a governance discipline. Without a clearly defined owner, it becomes difficult to:

• Maintain consistency
• Enforce expectations
• Translate technical risk into business terms that leaders can act on

The issue isn't job titles. It's whether someone clearly owns outcomes.

Human and Technical Risks Continue to Collide

The threats credit unions worry about most — ransomware, social engineering, and data breaches — aren't surprising. What's more telling is how often internal constraints make those threats harder to manage.

Budget limitations and staffing gaps remain common. That combination affects everything from readiness testing to tool optimization to response planning. Even when basic defenses are in place, limited capacity can prevent teams from closing gaps that attackers are quick to exploit.

For leadership teams, this reframes cybersecurity as a prioritization challenge, not just a technical one. Decisions about staffing, investment, and focus directly influence how well risks can be managed in practice.

The Right Tools Aren't Enough Without Oversight

Most credit unions report having core cybersecurity controls in place, including incident response testing, third-party support, vulnerability assessments, and monitoring. The bigger challenge is how consistently and deeply those tools are applied.

Critical safeguards like network segmentation are still far from universal. Insurance coverage isn't guaranteed. And many institutions say they need more skilled staff and clearer guidance to make existing tools work as intended.

Without oversight and accountability, even well-chosen technology falls short.

Compliance Pressure Isn't Going Away

Regulatory expectations remain a major driver of cybersecurity activity and a source of strain.

While some credit unions feel supported, many describe compliance as difficult and guidance as uneven. That variability makes it harder to plan confidently or measure progress year over year.

The institutions that fare best tend to treat compliance as a baseline rather than a finish line, using frameworks, evidence tracking, and exam results to inform broader risk decisions rather than reacting piecemeal.

What This Means for Credit Union Executives

Overall, the data doesn't suggest credit unions are falling behind. It shows that effort alone doesn't translate into assurance without:

• Clear ownership
• Meaningful visibility
• Aligned resources
• Executive engagement

Cybersecurity maturity comes from informed, consistent decisions over time, not checklists alone.

See Where You Stand and What Comes Next

SBS's State of Cybersecurity in Credit Unions: 2025 Executive Report goes deeper into these findings, with data, benchmarks, and executive-level insights drawn directly from credit unions like yours.

Use the full executive report to:

• Validate assumptions
• Understand where confidence breaks down
• Identify leadership and resource gaps worth addressing

Download the executive report to explore the survey results and insights shaping cybersecurity decisions across credit unions.