CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference offered guestspeakers, educational opportunities and insights from ourgovernment leaders – all providing valuable information. But onekey message delivered by NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz stands out:Today's credit unions face an ongoing and active threat from cybercriminals and cyber terrorists. Already, these attacks are causingsignificant financial and reputational damage.

Credit unions must step up their defense against online menaces,plain and simple. The potential damage of a breached credit unionsystem – such as compromised member data and identity theft,fraudulent transfers of funds, or unauthorized access to vendorsand business partners – is just too great. And unfortunately, theseworries are here to stay.

Matz offered several best practices and security protocols thatall credit unions should initiate, such as vendor due diligence,strong password policies, proper patch management, employeetraining and network monitoring. But this isn't enough. Creditunions also should follow the news, trends and emergence of newcyberthreats, making sure their vendors and business partners dothe same. Finally, credit unions need to educate themselves, sharetheir knowledge with others and keep this issue a top priority atindustry-wide events.

I recognize that's a lot for most credit unions tomanage on their own because adequate risk-mitigation and securitymeasures require the attention of top management, IT professionalsand operational staff. If a credit union's internal resources arelimited, management should consider engaging third-party providers,who can offer critical guidance, expertise and resources.

Cyber threats are hitting closer to home every day. Whether theygo it alone or seek outside support, credit unions must bolstertheir security posture and lower their overall level of risk. Andthey must do it soon.

Richard Carberry

Senior Consultant, Information Security Risk ManagementServices

Sollievo

Middletown, Pa.