CUNA News
  • LOG IN
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • LOG IN
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • Credit Union Magazine
    • Buyers' Guide
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Edition
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Topics
    • Community Service
    • Compliance
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Credit Union System
    • Directors
    • Human Resources
    • Leadership
    • Lending
    • Marketing
    • Operations
    • Policy & Issues
    • Sales & Service
    • Technology
  • Awards
    • Nominate Credit Union Hero
    • Nominate Credit Union Rock Star
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Contact

News

Home » White House issues letter on holiday cybersecurity
Policy & Issues

White House issues letter on holiday cybersecurity

December 17, 2021
Cybersecurity Safeguards

The White House released a letter advising financial institution executives and others about malicious cyber activity related to the holidays.

“In many cases criminals plan and actually begin an intrusion before the holiday itself – they infiltrate a network and lie in wait for the optimal time to launch an attack,” the letter reads. “It is therefore essential that you convene your leadership team now to make your organization a harder target for criminals.

Best practices the White House recommends be implemented immediately:

  • Updated patching. Criminals count on victims failing to patch their systems and usually take advantage of long-known and fixable vulnerabilities. Patching should be up-to-date, against all known vulnerabilities.
  • Know the network: Enable logs; pay attention; investigate quickly. Intrusions can be stopped before the impact.
  • Change passwords and mandate Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Ask IT staff how long it has been since employees changed their passwords. Confirm that your organization has implemented MFA and that it is required without exception.
  • Manage schedules. Review staffing plans for IT and security teams to ensure sufficient holiday coverage. Similarly, identify those IT and security employees who are on 24/7 call in the event of a cybersecurity incident or ransomware attack.
  • Employee awareness. Conduct spear phishing and other exercises to raise employee awareness of common attacks. Reinforce the imperative to report computers or phones exhibiting any unusual behavior.
  • Exercise makes an organization healthy. Exercise incident response plans now.
  • Back up data. Confirm that key data is being backed up. Ask IT staff to test the backup system and verify that that these backups are offline.

The document, as well as other cybersecurity resources, is available on CUNA’s Cybersecurity homepage.

Credit Union Magazine: Spring 2023

Spring 2023

Credit Union Magazine’s Spring 2023 issue features the 2023 Credit Union Heroes and examines CUNA-League advocacy priorities, board leadership, the impact of financial well-being efforts, fee-related compliance issues, predictions for the year ahead, and more.
Digital Edition •  Subscribe

Trending

  • CUNA Mascot Madness: See the West winner and vote for the South champ

  • Compliance: FinCEN issues BOI reporting guidance

  • Bill would establish ‘appropriate compliance timeline’ for section 1071

Tweets by CUNA_News

Polls

CUNA Mascot Madness: Which South Region mascot is your favorite?

View Results
More

Champion for the Credit Union Movement

Credit Union National Association is the most influential financial services trade association and the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America's credit unions. We work tirelessly to protect your best interests in Washington and all 50 states. We fuel your professional growth at every level and champion the credit union story at every turn.

More CUNA

  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • Careers

Resources for

  • Credit Union Advocates
  • Leagues
  • Press
  • Providers

Our Affiliates

  • American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL)
  • Credit Union Awareness
  • Credit Union House
  • CUNA Strategic Services
  • National Credit Union Foundation
GET CUNA UPDATES
© 2023 Credit Union National Association | ADA Compliance Notice & Legal
Email Us