FDIC warns banks to beef up cyber security

In the FDIC’s Supervisory Insights Winter 2015 publication, banks are being warned that “Due to the increase in number and sophistication of cyber threats, cybersecurity has become a critical issue facing the financial services sector”.

Doreen Eberley, Director Division of Risk Management Supervision, outlines common types of cyber attacks banks are facing, including:

• Malware – Often distributed through phishing emails to bank employees
• Denial of Service Attacks that target bank websites and systems and flood them with requests so that legitimate business activity is interrupted
• Compound Attacks – Where multiple types of attacks occur simultaneously

The publication refers to the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Cybersecurity as a baseline to confirm that your organization is taking the recommended steps to protect bank assets.

We work with organizations to perform NIST Gap Assessments (and audits) to confirm alignment in the following areas:

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Heed the warnings and assess your gaps!