Cyber Threats to Banks and Financial Institutions: Regulatory Requirements and Bank Examinations

Description

Cyber attacks on banks and financial institutions are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and reach beyond the realm of theft of customer personal information into cyber heists and cyber terrorism. Banking agencies have ramped up scrutiny on cybersecurity preparedness and rank cybersecurity as one their highest priorities.

The FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool, released in 2015, is designed to assist financial institutions in identifying and assessing risks and weaknesses in their cybersecurity preparedness programs. Regulators have made clear that the Assessment Tool will be incorporated into bank examinations, but it is not without its critics. Financial institutions must take a more comprehensive approach, where assessment frameworks, such as the CAT, are just one tool that they use.

The cybersecurity litigation landscape continues to evolve. In Sept. 2015, the SEC announced its first cybersecurity-related enforcement action against an investment adviser, and more garden variety cybersecurity class actions look to be reborn after recent developments.

Listen as our panel of banking and cybersecurity practitioners reviews the increasing and changing cyber threats for financial institutions and the current regulatory developments, including FFIEC’s Cybersecurity Assessment Tool. The panel will discuss how regulators assess cybersecurity and the increased scrutiny on risk management by board of directors and third-party vendor management. The panel will also look at litigation trends as well as regulatory enforcement actions.