Pandemic alters security landscape

The pandemic ushered in an era of remote work and a new set of information security (IS) challenges, a panel of security leaders said Wednesday during the CUNA Technology Council’s 9th Annual Security Summit in Las Vegas. 

The summit directly precedes the 2022 CUNA Operations & Member Experience Council and CUNA Technology Council Conference, Sept. 21-24 in Las Vegas. 

Moderated by Richard Roark, senior vice president/chief technology officer at Bay Federal Credit Union in Capitola, Calif., the panel featured: 

• Richard Borden, information security officer at Blackhawk Community Credit Union in Janesville, Wis. 
• Ryan Lemere, network engineer at Bay Federal Credit Union. 
• Steve McConnell, vice president of technology and security at Northwoods Credit Union in Cloquet, Minn.  
• Troy Smith, vice president of information technology at Valley Credit Union in Billings, Mont. 

Some key IS issues the pandemic has raised: 

• Maintaining overall security in a hybrid working environment. Credit unions eed to treat remote work arrangements like a branch at home.  One practice that improves security is locking down the hours during which employees can log on. At Northwoods, for example, remote employees can log on from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. 
• Implementing the right security tools across a wider swath of staff, such as virtual private networks, endpoint detection, machine learning, relational database services, cloud-based security, secure video conferencing, and multifactor authentication. 
• Increasing staff education about the risks involved in working remotely. 
• Reviewing and updating remote work policies and procedures annually. 
• Collaborating with other departments, particularly compliance, human resources, and information technology.  
• Conducting a work-from-home risk assessment. 

This article is part of  Tech22, CUNA News’ special focus on innovations and developments in technology. Follow the conversation on Twitter via #Tech22.