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Mortgage IT teams managed an average of 47 security tools in 2025, according to the Ponemon Institute. More tools meant more alerts. More alerts meant more fatigue. And alert fatigue is where breaches hide.
The IBM 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that organizations taking longer than 200 days to identify and contain breaches paid $5.01 million on average. Those under 200 days paid $3.87 million. Speed matters. Workflow clarity drives speed.
This article breaks down why cybersecurity workflows fail in mortgage companies, what the manual approach actually costs, and how Guardian Security Insights from ABT replaces fragmented processes with a single pane of glass.
A mortgage company managing 800 user accounts and 2,000 devices generates thousands of security events daily. MFA logs live in one console. Endpoint alerts sit in another. Compliance reports pull from a third. None of them talk to each other.
That fragmentation creates three problems:
The OCC's July 2025 Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience Report specifically flagged fragmented security tooling as a risk factor for regulated financial institutions. The report called for "effective authentication practices" and continuous vigilance against actors trying to circumvent controls.
Most IT teams try to fix workflow chaos with manual effort. They build dashboards, write scripts, and schedule weekly reviews. It works until it does not.
Step 1: Build a centralized dashboard. Pull data from multiple tools into one view. This takes weeks to set up and breaks whenever Microsoft updates an API.
Step 2: Write detection scripts. Create custom PowerShell or Python scripts to flag stale accounts, MFA gaps, and unmanaged devices. These scripts need constant updates as your environment changes.
Step 3: Schedule weekly triage. Meet with the team to review findings, assign fixes, and track progress. This eats 5-10 hours per week.
Guardian Security Insights is part of ABT's Guardian operating model. It automates the workflow steps that mortgage IT teams try to do by hand.
Guardian flags stale accounts, unmanaged devices, and incomplete MFA registrations automatically. No scripts to maintain. No dashboards to rebuild.
Not every alert is equal. Guardian ranks findings by risk impact. Your team fixes the vulnerabilities that matter first instead of chasing low-priority noise.
One view for all Microsoft 365 security data. Identity, devices, apps, and data protection in a single interface. No more switching between consoles.
Each finding generates a clear task. As issues get resolved, they drop off the list. No spreadsheet tracking. No forgotten follow-ups.
Guardian is built by ABT, a cloud-first MSP serving 750+ financial institutions. The platform understands FTC Safeguards Rule requirements, GLBA obligations, and state-level regulations that generic security tools ignore.
These results mirror broader industry patterns. Mason-McDuffie Mortgage, a Bay Area retail lender, saw its Microsoft Secure Score jump from 32% to over 90% after implementing ABT's Guardian program.
Guardian consolidates Microsoft 365 security data into a single dashboard and ranks every finding by risk impact. Instead of reviewing thousands of alerts across multiple consoles, your team sees a prioritized list of actions sorted by severity. Low-priority noise gets filtered out so staff can focus on the vulnerabilities that actually threaten borrower data and compliance standing.
Guardian automates stale account detection, MFA gap identification, unmanaged device flagging, risk prioritization, and compliance reporting. Each finding generates an actionable task that tracks through resolution. This replaces manual PowerShell scripts, spreadsheet tracking, and weekly triage meetings that consume 5-10 hours per week at most mortgage companies.
The FTC Safeguards Rule requires covered financial institutions to continuously monitor or periodically test the effectiveness of security controls. While it does not mandate a specific tool, the rule requires written risk assessments, MFA for system access, and incident response plans. Automated monitoring satisfies multiple requirements simultaneously and creates the audit trail examiners expect.
Most mortgage companies see measurable improvements within the first 30 days. Guardian delivers automated findings from day one. Common early wins include identifying stale accounts, closing MFA gaps, and cutting compliance preparation time by up to 75%. ABT's 90-day hardening sprint establishes a governed Microsoft 365 baseline with continuous monitoring from that point forward.
Managing cybersecurity at a mortgage company should not feel like putting out fires every week. Guardian Security Insights replaces fragmented tools, manual scripts, and alert overload with a single automated workflow built for regulated financial services.
Talk to a mortgage IT specialist to see how Guardian can cut your triage time and strengthen your compliance posture.
Related reading: Maximizing Your Secure Score: A Guide for IT Professionals | Transforming Your Secure Score Into a Cybersecurity Roadmap