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Tech Talk: New cybersecurity agency, ATM attacks, faster payments, and more!

  • New cybersecurity agency
  • The Fed on AI in financial services
  • Prime targets for attacks
  • More on FASTCash ATM attacks
  • An MITM ATM attack solution
  • More on the Magecart hackers
  • Faster Payments Council created
  • RT interbank settlement
  • Ripple taking on SWIFT
  • Spam, Scams & Breaches
  • Updates, Patches & Alerts
  • and on the lighter side...

New cybersecurity agency
Congress has passed legislation to establish a new cybersecurity agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The bill, awaiting President Trump's signature, will rebrand DHS's main cybersecurity unit – the National Protection and Programs Directorate – as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CISA) and solidify department's role as the primary federal agency overseeing civilian cybersecurity.
The Hill has the details.

The Fed on AI in financial services
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is among the disruptive technologies reshaping the financial industry today. At the "Fintech and the New Financial Landscape" conference held in Philadelphia this week, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard discussed the role of AI in banking and its impact on financial services. Brainard highlighted the need for regulatory oversight of the technology to ensure that potential risks are appropriately mitigated. Finextra has a transcript of Brainard's speech.

Prime targets for attacks
Thieves go where the money is and ATMs that are literally filled with cash are prime targets for physical and network attacks – and many of them are easy targets. A new report released by enterprise security firm Positive Technologies found that nearly all ATMs are vulnerable to host attacks and can be hacked in a matter of minutes. Finextra has the details.

More on FASTCash ATM attacks
Last month the Department of Homeland Security, Treasury Department, and the FBI issued an alert relating to ATM attacks being deployed by the crime group known as Lazarus that were pilfering millions of dollars from ATMs in Asia and Africa. A new report issued by security firm Symantec details how the hackers exploited unpatched or outdated systems to infect the machines with the FASTCash trojan, reports International Business Times.

An MITM ATM attack solution
A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack is an eavesdropping attack that is carried out by hackers to insert their presence into the communication between two parties to gain access to all the information they exchange. When deployed at ATMs, the hacker intercepts communication between the ATM PC and the acquirer host system to falsify host responses and dispense cash. A Wireless ATM Store in California has introduced a new software solution to help mitigate these attacks, reports ATM Marketplace.

The Magecart hackers
At least seven cybercriminal groups that share similar and effective card skimming tactics to hack ecommerce sites and steal payment card details have been dubbed Magecart. A joint report released by cybersecurity company RiskIQ and business risk intelligence specialist Flashpoint details the unique characteristics of the different Magecart groups, reports TechCrunch. According to a Dutch security researcher that has been tracking Magecart-related infections since 2015, a large number of victims get reinfected within five days. ZDNet has the details.

Faster Payments Council created
To facilitate the country's efforts to provide consumers and businesses with access to a secure faster payments network, the Federal Reserve's Governance Framework Formation Team (comprised of leading banks and fintech companies) has created the U.S. Faster Payments Council. The council will focus on private-sector approaches to solving problems in the payments market and address issues that inhibit the adoption of faster payments, reports PYMNTS.com.

RT interbank settlement
The ability to process payments any time on any day, with immediate funds availability, helps consumers and businesses manage their money more efficiently. Global efforts are underway to provide secure, real-time cross country and cross-border payments, but the delay that may occur in interbank settlement for some of these payments presents inherent risks. The Federal Reserve Board is seeking input on the potential development of a 24x7x365 real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service for faster payments. FRB Services has the details.

Ripple taking on SWIFT
Global financial messaging network SWIFT has a competitor hot on its heels. Fintech startup Ripple Labs is gaining traction with more than 100 banks and payment providers on its blockchain-based RippleNet platform. Ripple attributes the success of its network to faster, more up-to-date technology than legacy firm SWIFT offers. The cryptocurrency firm asserts that more banks and payment providers will migrate to their network and that they are on track to overtake SWIFT in the cross-border payments market. Bloomberg has the details.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

See what other current hot cyber and technology topics affecting financial institutions BOL users are discussing in the Technology Forum.

And on the lighter side...

The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, kicks off the official holiday shopping season. Shoppers fight early morning traffic, crowded stores and long lines to grab steep savings on the hottest tech items. But frugal shoppers can take advantage of some low-cost, budget friendly tech gifts without all that chaos.

First published on 11/16/2018

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