Info Risk Today Podcast

NIST's Ron Ross points out that its seminal security control guidance, Special Publication 800-53, contains only one privacy control, requiring agencies to conduct a privacy impact assessment. That will change by year's end.

It's not enough for banking institutions to conform to the FFIEC Authentication Guidance update. They also must ensure that their key vendors meet the same standards, says Philip Alexander of Wells Fargo Bank.

Former banking regulator William Henley has simple advice for banking institutions wondering how to comply with the new FFIEC authentication guidance update: "Start immediately, develop a plan, and document your progress."

You know your organization's social media policy is a good one when it starts sounding less like a checklist and more like common sense, says Sherrie Madia, social media expert and author.

An important component of preparing for a potential HIPAA compliance audit is to complete a "walk through" to make sure privacy and security policies and procedures are practical and effective, former HIPAA enforcer Adam Greene advises.

Since becoming Vermont's first CISO three years ago, Kris Rowley's been on a quest to create an IT security culture in state government. Rowley's latest initiative, bringing risk assessment in-house, is helping build that culture.

The long-overdue HIPAA compliance audit program likely will launch late this year or early in 2012 after up to 20 test audits are completed, says Susan McAndrew, deputy director of the federal agency overseeing the program.

Now that the FFIEC Authentication Guidance update has been issued, there is no more important task for banking institutions than to conduct their risk assessments, says Matthew Speare of M&T Bank Corp.

Doug Johnson of the American Bankers Association says banking institutions should spend the next five months focusing on their risk assessments, as they work to meet the FFIEC's new authentication guidance update.

Keeping data secure is the greatest challenge during any merger or acquisition, and the first critical step is figuring out which confidential information could be at risk of exposure.

Eddie Schwartz didn't shy away from the offer to become RSA's first chief security officer after the security firm experienced a sophisticated advanced-persistent-threat breach. Instead, Schwartz embraced the hack as the reason to take the job. (See RSA to Get Its First Chief Security Officer.)

Recent high-profile data breaches and heightened threats add up to one thing: a bright future for information security professionals who want to start or re-start a career in risk management.

Minnesota has seen an increase in malicious traffic since the state government shut down a week ago, but state CISO Chris Buse says sophisticated intrusion-detection systems and an alert skeleton staff have prevented any harm from being done, at least to the part of state government IT controlled by the Office of Enterprise Technology.

RSA customers who feel victimized by last March's breach of the security vendor's computers have viable options that include continued use of the SecurID authentication tokens, those offered by competitors, or something entirely different: biometrics.

Insider fraud expert Shirley Inscoe says Citi is not the only financial institution that's doing a poor job of keeping up with employee misconduct. Few banking institutions grasp how damaging inside jobs actually are.

Major U.S. card issuers continue to get poor marks when it comes to steps they take to prevent card fraud. In fact, according to research released by Javelin Strategy & Research, prevention measures for the last three consecutive years have continually declined, despite exponential increases in fraud.

Today's top fraud threats recognize no global boundaries, says James Ratley, head of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. And they require a stronger global workforce than ever before.

The Fed's ruling on interchange cuts mandated by the Durbin Amendment will aid fraud prevention and could accelerate a move to chip-based payments, says Randy Vanderhoof, director of the Smart Card Alliance.

Eddie Schwartz, the new - and first - chief security officer of RSA, says the IT security provider hit by a sophisticated advanced-persistent-threat attack in March is focusing internal security on efforts to reduce the time an intruder can go undetected.

For all the latest news and views, please visit the FFIEC Authentication Guidance Resource Center. Gartner's Avivah Litan says regulators have done a nice job of emphasizing why and how banks and credit unions need to implement layered security that adequately addresses online risks. But the guidance falls short when it comes to customer education.