In an industry where cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, community banks must ensure that governance and oversight processes are airtight. Yet, many still rely on spreadsheets to manage critical security tasks, compliance tracking, and risk assessments. While...
Several months ago, I wrote a blog on Shadow IT, emphasizing the risks of unapproved software and systems used by employees without the knowledge of the IT department. Shadow IT can lead to significant security vulnerabilities, as it is impossible to protect...
In the current economic environment, community banks face unique challenges such as rate compression, shrinking margins, liquidity and commercial real estate concerns. These factors make the upcoming budgeting season particularly daunting for IT and information...
Preparing for your next examination can feel overwhelming as the regulatory expectations continue to expand. As you gear up for your next regulatory examination (or audit), it is crucial to align with the expectations outlined in the Federal Financial Institutions...
When I first entered the banking world, user access reviews were much more straightforward. Spreadsheets were used to capture the basics of who had network and core application access. There was a page in each employee’s file listing the keys and codes they had, and...
Are you confident that your bank has clear and thorough visibility to every employee’s physical and digital access to systems? If you’re like most banks we work with, the answer to this question is “no”. There are many challenges that make tracking employee access...
In the world of community banking, the landscape of information security and cyber risk management has dramatically evolved. Gone are the days when all servers were in-house, and every application installation involved the IT department. Today, it’s easier than ever for a Compliance Officer to sign off on a new software tool to manage Reg DD challenges or for a Loan Officer to adopt a cloud solution to improve customer acceptance rates.
For over a year now, every Tuesday, the Finosec team has been holding a meeting to discuss how we are leveraging AI personally, at work, and in our platform. These weekly meetings have consistently focused on sharing the impact of AI for each of us personally and the...
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector presents both transformative opportunities and significant challenges. As financial institutions increasingly evaluate AI technologies, it is crucial to ensure these innovations comply...
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of bankers at the ICBA Live conference. When I asked who was using AI, only a few hands went up. Then I asked how many had policies forbidding AI usage, and several more hands were raised. This brought us to an interesting realization: those banks were inadvertently in violation of their own policies. AI isn’t new—it’s been enhancing our industry for years, especially in cybersecurity and fraud detection.
For those of you who don’t know me or my family well, we are a Disney family. For those of you who just rolled your eyes, bear with me, this article isn’t just about Disney. It’s about a lightbulb moment I had while riding Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, which illustrates the journey of human progress from the dawn of time.
The area shows before the printing press how communication was handled; handwritten copies and one-to-one conversations. Then you see society’s leap from the written word to the digital age and computers. Just as the ride highlighted the milestone and impact of Gutenberg’s printing press, I found myself contemplating AI’s place in our future and the striking realization that the two journeys are more similar than they are different.
