Cyber Strategy
Cyber Secure
Cyber Operations
Cyber Response
Cyber ResilienceIn the modern business world, digital information is growing more critical as the day goes by. Financial institutions of all sizes are increasingly emphasizing digital services, cloud-based solutions, data analytics, and other technology offerings that can improve efficiency, serve customers, and reduce operating costs. To help financial institutions manage their cyber risks around these technologies, the Financial Services ‘Cybersecurity Assessment Tool’ (CAT) was developed by the United States ‘Federal Financial Institution Examination Council’ (FFIEC) in partnership with leading financial services firms while incorporating established cybersecurity guidelines.
We will discuss more about how the FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool allows financial institutions to assess their cybersecurity posture.
In the modern business world, digital information is growing more critical as the day goes by. Financial institutions of all sizes are increasingly emphasizing digital services, cloud-based solutions, data analytics, and other technology offerings that can improve efficiency, serve customers, and reduce operating costs. To help financial institutions manage their cyber risks around these technologies, the Financial Services ‘Cybersecurity Assessment Tool’ (CAT) was developed by the United States ‘Federal Financial Institution Examination Council’ (FFIEC) in partnership with leading financial services firms while incorporating established cybersecurity guidelines.
We will discuss more about how the FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool allows financial institutions to assess their cybersecurity posture.
What is the FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool?
The FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool is a free cybersecurity assessment tool for financial institutions to evaluate, assess, and mitigate risks associated with their technology adoption. The Cybersecurity Assessment Tool measures risk levels across several categories, including contact points, delivery channels, connection types, external threats, and company-wide culture. This gives stakeholders the necessary metrics to measure their cybersecurity maturity and take the steps required to protect their digital assets.
What is the FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool?
The Big Picture: Why do Financial Institutions Need Robust Cybersecurity?
It is worth taking a step back and understanding why cybersecurity is such an essential aspect of the financial industry. Cybercriminals have a vested interest in targeting financial firms and are constantly finding new ways to break through cybersecurity controls. If they are successful, they could cause significant damage. For example, they could steal sensitive data, take control of a company’s systems, or cause service disruptions that bring business operations to a halt. If these attacks aren’t detected, detected too late, or aren’t adequately mitigated, the outcomes could be disastrous for the institution and its clients.
The fear of cyberattacks is real, and it’s not going away anytime soon. In fact, the frequency and severity of cyberattacks are expected to continue increasing in the coming years. This is why many organizations are taking the security of their cyber entities more seriously.
Why is FFIEC's Cybersecurity Assessment Tool Important?
The FFIEC CAT is a free resource that can help financial firms of all sizes assess and gain insight into their current cybersecurity structure, evaluate their cybersecurity readiness, and identify areas for improvement. The FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool is unique in that it was developed in close collaboration with the leading financial institutions in the country. As a result, it’s a highly tailored cybersecurity assessment tool that can be applied to any financial firm. Financial institutions have different risks based on their type of business, the clients they serve, the technologies they use, and other factors. This tool is designed to help them develop a current risk profile and determine the overall maturity of their cybersecurity practices in line with global cybersecurity standards.
The FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool is a vital instrument for financial institutions to manage their cybersecurity risk.
The Big Picture: Why do Financial Institutions Need Robust Cybersecurity?
It is worth taking a step back and understanding why cybersecurity is such an essential aspect of the financial industry. Cybercriminals have a vested interest in targeting financial firms and are constantly finding new ways to break through cybersecurity controls. If they are successful, they could cause significant damage. For example, they could steal sensitive data, take control of a company’s systems, or cause service disruptions that bring business operations to a halt. If these attacks aren’t detected, detected too late, or aren’t adequately mitigated, the outcomes could be disastrous for the institution and its clients.
The fear of cyberattacks is real, and it’s not going away anytime soon. In fact, the frequency and severity of cyberattacks are expected to continue increasing in the coming years. This is why many organizations are taking the security of their cyber entities more seriously.
Why is FFIEC's Cybersecurity Assessment Tool Important?
The FFIEC CAT is a free resource that can help financial firms of all sizes assess and gain insight into their current cybersecurity structure, evaluate their cybersecurity readiness, and identify areas for improvement. The FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool is unique in that it was developed in close collaboration with the leading financial institutions in the country. As a result, it’s a highly tailored cybersecurity assessment tool that can be applied to any financial firm. Financial institutions have different risks based on their type of business, the clients they serve, the technologies they use, and other factors. This tool is designed to help them develop a current risk profile and determine the overall maturity of their cybersecurity practices in line with global cybersecurity standards.
The FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool is a vital instrument for financial institutions to manage their cybersecurity risk.
FFIEC CAT Maturity Assessment Domains
The FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool defines the maturity of a financial institution’s cybersecurity practices as a baseline, evolving, intermediate, advanced, or innovative level.
For an organization to qualify for any of these maturity levels, the tool evaluates its cybersecurity practices across the following five domains:
- Cyber Risk Management and Oversight: This domain examines the involvement of the institution’s management and influential stakeholders in establishing a comprehensive organization-wide cybersecurity culture. This domain is important because it will determine the robustness and efficiency of the cybersecurity program—which is dependent on organizational structure and strategy, and requires deliberate budgeting.
- Threat Intelligence and Collaboration: This domain assesses the availability of in-depth information about the cyber threats the institution is vulnerable to. A good cybersecurity program provisions for systems monitoring, logging and analyzing, allowing the institution to detect cyber threats on time.
- Cybersecurity Controls: In this domain, the cybersecurity assessment tool evaluates the security controls that the organization have in place in the detective, preventative, and corrective areas of their cybersecurity program.
- External Dependency Management: It is not uncommon that an institution’s cyber environment is dependent on several third-party tools, software, and integrations. The domain assesses the security measures an institution has in place to safeguard itself from cyberattacks related to its cyber affiliations.
- Cyber Incident Management Resilience: Regardless of how mature and sophisticated an institution’s cybersecurity measures are, the risk of a cyberattack remains; therefore, an institution must prepare for it. This domain evaluates financial institutions’ incident management and threat response practices.
How to Use the FFIEC CAT Effectively
The FFIEC CAT is a comprehensive cybersecurity assessment tool that helps financial institutions expose vulnerable aspects of their cybersecurity program and plan for improvement. To get an effective result from the adoption of the FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool, financial institutions must:
- Inform all relevant stakeholders and the board of directors.
- Make their cybersecurity program inclusive.
- Assign responsibilities and engage or employ experienced and capable security professionals to lead the cybersecurity program.
- Assess their security posture by the guidelines of the tool.
- Accept the actual results of the assessment and work towards improving it.
- Make all the procedures in their cybersecurity program continuous.
By using the guidelines of the FFEIC cybersecurity assessment tool to evaluate their cybersecurity maturity, financial institutions can also use its instructions to interpret the results and determine what their next steps towards improvement should be.
FFIEC CAT Maturity Assessment Domains
The FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool defines the maturity of a financial institution’s cybersecurity practices as a baseline, evolving, intermediate, advanced, or innovative level.
For an organization to qualify for any of these maturity levels, the tool evaluates its cybersecurity practices across the following five domains:
- Cyber Risk Management and Oversight: This domain examines the involvement of the institution’s management and influential stakeholders in establishing a comprehensive organization-wide cybersecurity culture. This domain is important because it will determine the robustness and efficiency of the cybersecurity program—which is dependent on organizational structure and strategy, and requires deliberate budgeting.
- Threat Intelligence and Collaboration: This domain assesses the availability of in-depth information about the cyber threats the institution is vulnerable to. A good cybersecurity program provisions for systems monitoring, logging and analyzing, allowing the institution to detect cyber threats on time.
- Cybersecurity Controls: In this domain, the cybersecurity assessment tool evaluates the security controls that the organization have in place in the detective, preventative, and corrective areas of their cybersecurity program.
- External Dependency Management: It is not uncommon that an institution’s cyber environment is dependent on several third-party tools, software, and integrations. The domain assesses the security measures an institution has in place to safeguard itself from cyberattacks related to its cyber affiliations.
- Cyber Incident Management Resilience: Regardless of how mature and sophisticated an institution’s cybersecurity measures are, the risk of a cyberattack remains; therefore, an institution must prepare for it. This domain evaluates financial institutions’ incident management and threat response practices.
How to Use the FFIEC CAT Effectively
The FFIEC CAT is a comprehensive cybersecurity assessment tool that helps financial institutions expose vulnerable aspects of their cybersecurity program and plan for improvement. To get an effective result from the adoption of the FFIEC cybersecurity assessment tool, financial institutions must:
- Inform all relevant stakeholders and the board of directors.
- Make their cybersecurity program inclusive.
- Assign responsibilities and engage or employ experienced and capable security professionals to lead the cybersecurity program.
- Assess their security posture by the guidelines of the tool.
- Accept the actual results of the assessment and work towards improving it.
- Make all the procedures in their cybersecurity program continuous.
By using the guidelines of the FFEIC cybersecurity assessment tool to evaluate their cybersecurity maturity, financial institutions can also use its instructions to interpret the results and determine what their next steps towards improvement should be.
Conclusion
To keep their data and assets secure, today’s businesses, especially financial institutions, must assume that a cyberattack is inevitable rather than a possibility. Robust security measures mean strengthening the walls around your system and implementing defense in-depth including sophisticated monitoring, detection, and response systems. You can build resilience into your financial system by taking an overhauling approach to putting cybersecurity practices as outlined in the SAMA cybersecurity framework into practice. This approach means that when (not if) a breach occurs, it can be rapidly detected and blocked, and appropriate action can be taken to limit its impact.
Conclusion
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