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Registration Open for 2023 SDBA State Legislative DayThe SDBA State Legislative Day on Feb. 15, 2023, at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center in Pierre is your opportunity to stay up-to-date on both state and federal legislation which could affect the banking industry, visit with state legislators and constitutional officers, and make sure our industry is heard. The day will include an SDBA Legislative Committee meeting, lunch, SDBA update, featured speaker James Nowak, Gov. Kristi Noem (invited), the chance to visit with state legislators at the State Capitol, and an evening reception with state legislators and constitutional officers. The day will also include special sessions specifically designed for emerging industry leaders. Click here for more information and registration. SDBA Bank Squawk Podcast Hosts SD Division of Banking Director, Bret AfdahlBret Afdahl, South Dakota Division of Banking Director, recently joined Karl at the SDBA office to talk about trends and topics currently affecting the banking industry. ESG, the SAFE Act (cannabis), and inflation were all touched on. What’s ahead in the banking industry, and how can we continue to engage and advocate for the banking industry? Tune in to the latest episode of “SDBA Bank Squawk” on Spotify. The episode is titled, “Today’s Banking Trends w/South Dakota Division of Banking Director, Bret Afdahl.” Listen via Spotify by searching “SDBA Bank Squawk” on Spotify or click here to listen now. The episode is titled, “Today’s Banking Trends w/South Dakota Division of Banking Director, Bret Afdahl.” We’re looking forward to sharing our next episode with a special secret guest in the upcoming days! Hint: He shares gifts with many this time of year! Registration Open for ABA Washington SummitThe ABA Washington Summit on March 20-23, 2023, is the opportunity for you and your peers to advocate for the changes America’s banks need to better serve their customers, form and build relationships with lawmakers and unite our industry’s voice on Capitol Hill. Our collective voice is critical as we educate policymakers on the important role banks play in economic growth and job creation. The SDBA is currently planning to attend the Summit and would like to invite you to participate as well. The Summit will be held both in person and virtually. Registration is free. Join us as we hear from top-notch speakers, connect with our congressional delegation and dine with our friends at the NDBA. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to engage on multiple levels. Registration is now open. Find more information at www.aba.com/training-events/conferences/washington-summit. Enroll Now for 2023 Graduate School of Banking SchoolsApplications are being accepted for all 2023 GSB schools. Space is strictly limited; in fact, some programs are filling quickly, so early enrollment is encouraged. The Digital Banking School will be held online; all other schools are residential and will be held in person on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wisconsin. GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BANKINGJuly 30 - August 11, 2023 This 25-month leadership development program provides the tools you need to be successful in your banking career. At GSB, you’ll develop the critical thinking skills and leadership talents to manage change and motivate people by drawing on a clear understanding of all areas of financial services management. Plus, you’ll earn the prestigious Certificate of Executive Leadership from the Wisconsin School of Business in addition to a GSB diploma. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SCHOOLMarch 27-31, 2023Designed for HR professionals in banking to help tie together important banking and HR issues, this school will expand your knowledge of the business of banking, human resource management, talent development, compensation, employee performance and more. BANK TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT SCHOOLApril 17-21, 2023Created especially for financial services IT professionals, this popular and respected program explores critical banking and technology issues. Gain an in-depth understanding of bank profitability, technology management, vendor management, IT exams and more. DIGITAL BANKING SCHOOLOffered Virtually, Twice Weekly Half Day Classes, April 3-27, 2023The first school of its kind – to help community banks grow in the digital banking space, with a focus on innovation, digital product mix, customer engagement, technology, vendor partnerships and more. Per bank pricing allows multiple attendees from the same organization to participate affordably. FINANCIAL MANAGERS SCHOOLSeptember 18-22, 2023This school goes beyond the basics to present best practices and solutions to today’s most critical financial management decisions. Designed by experienced CFOs for financial institution finance managers to provide the tools you need to build a solid foundation in asset/liability management. SALES AND MARKETING SCHOOLSeptember 25-29, 2023High-energy school that’s ideal for sales and marketing teams to attend together with multi-student rebates. Content explores sales, marketing, relationship development, branding and more - all in the context of a financial institution, with valuable content on the business of banking to round out the experience. BANK TECHNOLOGY SECURITY SCHOOLOctober 16-20, 2023Especially for IT security officers, this program will broaden your understanding of the business of banking along with an in depth, interactive and hands-on study of the latest IT security techniques and strategies. Nominations for Amazing Outside Director Close January 6Each spring, BankBeat honors Amazing Outside Directors. Nominations for outside directors are accepted at any time, but submissions close on January 6. The Amazing Outside Directors program is sponsored by CliftonLarsonAllen. Amazing Outside Directors are people who invest in the success of their local community banks by contributing skills, insights and analysis to bank governance, all while helping their institutions develop new relationships. Nominated individuals should serve on boards for banks located in one of the following states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan or Iowa. Send nominations by January 1 to Mara Gawarecki at [email protected] or use snail mail: BankBeat, NFR Communications, 250 Prairie Center Drive, Ste. 300, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. Click HERE to nominate a director online.
ABA Launches Multimedia Ad Campaign Opposing Deeply Flawed Credit Card LegislationThe American Bankers Association today launched a major TV, radio and digital advertising campaign highlighting the flaws with the so-called Credit Card Competition Act and the negative impact it would have on consumers, including the elimination of popular credit card reward programs. The ad campaign targets the Washington market and follows similar ABA advertising in select markets across the country. The legislation, which has been introduced in the House and Senate, would eliminate consumer choice by allowing retail chains to route their customers’ transactions over the cheapest credit card network regardless of security capabilities or rewards offerings. The ads, which begin airing today, urge policymakers in Washington to reject any attempt to advance the bill, which has never been the focus of a hearing, during the lame-duck Congress. They also encourage consumers to tell their lawmakers to oppose this misguided legislation, which is being pushed by the largest national grocery chains, online retailers and big-box stores. The ads highlight how those businesses are trying to avoid paying their fair share to support the nation’s modern and efficient payments system, even as they benefit from that system every day. “Senators Marshall and Durbin, Senator-elect Welch and Representative Gooden have introduced anti-consumer legislation that would reduce choice, jeopardize consumer data security, and eliminate travel points and other popular credit card rewards programs,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. “This ad campaign educates the public on the negative impact this bill would have on consumers and urges lawmakers to oppose mega-retailers’ attempt to pad their profits while they are already charging sky-high prices." "From gas to groceries. Americans are feeling it. High prices and record inflation. So why are some in Washington pushing a new costly mandate that’ll make things harder for consumers? It’ll mean the credit card rewards you enjoy…will go away. It won’t be your choice. It’ll be what Washington wants. Consumers and Main Street will lose big," the association's television ad says. “As the biggest grocery chains try to get even bigger and limit competition, they’re pressuring Congress to pass a law making your cash back, points, rewards, and airline miles a thing of the past. With inflation eating away at your food budget, the big plan from big grocery is to make things even worse by making it harder to earn credit card rewards when you try to feed your family. That isn’t competition. It’s a money grab by big grocery,” the association’s radio ad says. The digital ads will further amplify those messages. The ads direct listeners and viewers to the campaign’s URL — aba.com/ProtectMyPoints — where they can send a letter to their Congressional delegation opposing S. 4674/H.R. 8874, the Credit Card Competition Act. Watch and listen to the TV/Radio ads.
7 Holiday Cybersecurity Tips to Try Before The Year EndsThe holiday rush is upon us, and so is the risk of cyberattack. Threat actors often get to work during the holidays. IT staff is heading out for vacation, and everyone is in a hurry. This means we might skimp on security. Still, there are some holiday cybersecurity tips that will help make the season go smoothly. End of Year and Christmas CyberattacksDuring the holidays, online activity ramps up a lot. Deloitte forecasts that e-commerce sales will grow by 11-15% year-over-year. This will likely result in e-commerce holiday sales reaching between $210 billion and $218 billion this season. And all that bustling around digital stores creates openings for threat actors. Earlier this year, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) sent out an alert concerning ransomware awareness for holidays and weekends. Obviously, you can’t overhaul your entire cyber defense strategy before the end of the year. But some useful holiday cybersecurity tips can make a difference. First, let’s explore tactics you can implement now. Then, we’ll look at big picture perspectives to improve your long-term cybersecurity. Holiday Cybersecurity Tips for Right NowHere are actions you can execute right away to beef up your cybersecurity during the high-risk holiday season. Tip 1: Be Extra Cautious With EmailDistraction is the cyber criminal’s best friend. It’s best you use work PCs only for work— no online shopping or personal email allowed. This applies to remote work as well. If employees toggle back and forth between work and gift buying, the risk of clicking on a malicious link increases. If a great shopping deal suddenly appears on their browser, they might click before thinking twice. Credential phishing and ransomware attacks tend to rise during the holidays. Everyone should be extra careful about any email promoting special holiday offers and deals. These attacks are highly refined, with the look and feel of an authentic email from big-name brands. Bogus emails with a malicious link or attachment could quickly unleash ransomware into your network. Phishing attacks can also be sent via SMS, instant messaging and social networks. Alert your staff about these risks. Remind them to carefully scrutinize any email that contains links or asks you to download anything. Tip 2: On-Call IT Security StaffWith IT staff on vacation, fewer eyeballs are on screens to keep track of issues. If you find your site down during the holiday break, do you have a backup plan in place? At a minimum, who gets called in the event of an after-hours emergency? While this may not prevent an attack, it pays to have IT security staff on call in the event an incident occurs. Tip 3: Threat HuntingThe FBI and CISA encourage businesses and agencies to engage in preemptive threat hunting. This involves searching for signs of malicious movement to stop attacks or reduce damage after a successful breach. Threat actors can remain hidden in your network long before anyone detects them. Unseen for months, they can steal large amounts of data. After they take sensitive data, threat actors can then encrypt critical files to be later held for ransom. In the near term, review your data logs and scan for suspicious activity. If possible, check for repeated failed file modifications, increased CPU/disk activity, inability to access files and abnormal network communications. The CISA also says to watch out for the following when threat hunting:
Holiday Cybersecurity Tips for the Long TermWhen you return from the holidays, these actions will improve your overall security by a lot. Don’t put it off until it’s too late. Tip 4: Set Up Offline Data BackupRansomware attacks encrypt critical data files so you can’t access them. Even if you pay the ransom, there’s no guarantee the attackers will decrypt your files. It’s important to have an offline data backup of your most important files. Resist the temptation to have your backup located somewhere else on your network. Many ransomware variants will seek and delete or encrypt accessible backups. Consider scheduling your backup update and testing to be completed before the holidays every year. Tip 5: Update, Scan & Patch SoftwareWhen it comes to software and applications, it’s important to install the latest updates. Threat actors are always on the lookout for newly discovered vulnerabilities to exploit. If you have outdated (end-of-life) software, you could be exposed to weaknesses with no update. It pays to develop an unpatched vulnerability plan, which begins with risk prioritization. Vulnerability assessment and scanning may reveal thousands of weak spots, but you can’t fix them all at once. Instead, you should focus on the ones near mission-critical systems and internet-facing servers. A centralized patch management system with risk-based assessment is critical to creating an effective and efficient patch strategy. Finally, complete scheduled vulnerability testing to make sure your patches are working and to scan for new weak spots. Tip 6: Implement Identity & Access ManagementThe who, what, where and when of user access to networks is the essence of identity and access management (IAM). At a minimum, IAM keeps track of logins and permissions, but there’s so much more to it. For example, how do you manage access for employees, customers and partners all at the same time? Plus, the level of access for each employee may vary depending on their jobs, which adds to the complexity. With the help of artificial intelligence, IAM enables you to monitor and manage your entire user access ecosystem. Through context-based analytics, IT security teams have more precise control and insight into who’s logging in where, and when. This enables the rapid detection of anomalies without having to deploy cumbersome or strict access policies for every single user. Tip 7: Secure Your NetworksAnother threat mitigation tactic the CISA suggests is to secure your network(s). You can start with multilayered network segmentation. With this method, the most critical messages occupy the most secure and reliable layer. You can also protect network traffic flow by filtering out malicious IP addresses. Likewise, you can prevent users from accessing malicious websites with URL block-lists and/or allow-lists. Finally, scan your network for open and listening ports and close any unneeded ports. Threat Management Is Year-RoundThreat management isn’t just a holiday thing. Your organization needs to protect critical assets and manage full threat life cycles. An intelligent, integrated unified approach can help you detect advanced threats, respond quickly with precision and recover faster from disruption.
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