Florida Banking August 2022

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

DEVELOPING A CYBERSECURITY MINDSET: LESSONS FROMOUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE

BY BILL PENNEY, FBA CHAIR

T he 134th FBA Annual Meeting is in the books! If you had the privilege of joining us in Orlando at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, I hope your experience was as valuable, educational and fun as mine. Our conference was centered around the increasingly relevant theme of cybersecurity. Scott Augenbaum, retired FBI agent and cybersecurity expert, gave an engaging opening keynote about developing a cybersecurity mindset. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the cost of global cybercrime damage is $6 trillion a year, and is predicted to increase to $10

password (if applicable), and (b) choosing unique passwords for each (rather than using the same one for multiple accounts). In our session “Thinking Like a Cybercriminal” with Etay Maor, he showed us just how easy it is for cybercriminals to take advantage of those who forget to change the default password on their devices (for example, a home router). Another basic but critical tip? Enable 2-factor authentication to protect your mission critical accounts. The simplest steps could save you from being the next unsuspecting victim of cybercrime.

trillion. Augenbaum reminded us that cybercriminals are going after our customers, who may be easily fooled by the realistic-looking but fraudulent emails or texts warning, “your account has been closed.” These are the four truths that Augenbaum shared about cybersecurity: 1. None of the victims expected to be a victim. 2. Once the damage is done, it’s difficult to get the money back. 3. It’s challenging to bring the criminals to justice.

“THERE ARE BASIC STEPS WE CAN TAKE TO DRAMATICALLY REDUCE OUR RISK; WE WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME ON HYGIENE AND PREVENTION, AND LESS TIME REACTING TO CRISES.”

As always, I’m grateful to the FBA for putting on an excellent event with an impressive group of speakers to both educate and entertain us. I’d also like to congratulate our deserving award-winners and new officers. Other highl ights of the event included our regulator panel, informative breakout sessions, vendor tradeshow, BankPac Silent Auction, and our final gala with brain-teasing entertainment led by The Murder Mystery Co. I had the

opportunity to showcase my acting chops as a“suspect.” Don’t wait for our yearly conference to join us — the FBA offers great events and educational opportunities all throughout the year. We need you to be involved. As The Blues Brothers sing, “Everybody needs somebody… I need you, you, you!” Check your inbox and stay informed; I hope to see you at our next event. Remember — I need YOU to help us fight for OUR industry! Thank you.

4. Most cyber crimes could have been prevented. There are basic steps we can take to dramatically reduce our risk; we want to spend more time on hygiene and prevention, and less time reacting to crises. Cybercriminals need very little to cause lasting damage. If they can get their hands on our usernames and passwords, the doors are open towreak havoc. Remember Augenbaum’s basics for preventing costly cybercrime: Identify your top 5 “mission critical” accounts. Protect these accounts by (a) changing the default

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