SWACHA and the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force to Educate Financial Professionals on Business Account Takeover
Dallas, TX, August 19, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Dallas-based SWACHA, one of the largest not-for-profit regional payments associations in the country, and the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force will host a seminar on August 24, 2011 in San Antonio to help financial professionals recognize the warning signs of business account takeover attempts, and understand how to prepare their financial institutions to respond to this type of attack.
“SWACHA and the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force are organizing this event because it is imperative that financial institutions fully understand how exposed they are to cyber criminals remotely accessing their customers’ business accounts,” said Dennis Simmons, AAP, SWACHA president and CEO. “These cases of business account takeovers are getting more prominent. Three lawsuits were filed against banks in the past 12 months alleging liability for business account takeover losses, totaling more than $1.5 million. It is essential for our industry to have the tools and the knowledge to quickly identify when fraud is taking place and to swiftly shut it down.”
Business account takeover occurs when cyber criminals remotely take control of a business account at a bank or credit union in order to initiate fraudulent transactions. They gain control of business accounts by stealing online banking credentials. The most common method of stealing credentials is by infecting a business’ workstation through malware software commonly distributed through email, social networking sites or malicious web sites.
The event will be held at LaQuinta Inn & Suites Medical Center, 4431 Horizon Hill Blvd in San Antonio from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Charles Bretz with FS-ISAC and Bretz LLC will moderate an exercise about the real world threats posed by business customer's computers infected with malware and data breaches and review many current threats and attacks.
“Corporate account hijacking represents a persistent and significant threat to the banking industry, and especially to financial institutions offering wire transfer and ACH origination services via the Internet,” said Charles Cooper, Texas Banking Commissioner. “To address this threat we formed the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force in 2010, which is modeled after the U.S. Secret Service’s electronic crimes task force. The cooperative efforts of this task force comprised of the U.S. Secret Service, SWACHA, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, and the Texas Bankers Association are crucial in helping the banking industry defend against this threat. I encourage all financial institutions to take advantage of educational opportunities regarding corporate account hijacking, as this threat will only continue to grow.”
“The Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force is composed of participants from banks, law enforcement agencies, trade associations, and regulatory agencies. It was formed to address the growing threat of electronic crimes with the realization that these crimes represent a collective threat that requires the collaborative efforts of several different sectors,” said Pete Villarreal, Co-Chair, Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force. “The U.S. Secret Service is a key partner and the task force is modeled after their electronic crimes task forces. The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) was formed in 1865 to suppress counterfeiting of U.S. currency. It is the original protector of our nation’s monetary system. As our monetary system has evolved, so have the methods used by the USSS to protect the monetary system, including the structure of task forces. The traditional task force model consisted primarily of law enforcement personnel. The Secret Service expanded that approach to also include local and state law enforcement agencies, private industry, and academia. By forging interactive relationships with private sector entities and scholars, the task forces are open to a wealth of resources. Another important element of the USSS task force model is placing a strong emphasis on prevention and education. Investigating a crime after it has occurred is not the best method for protecting our monetary system. The Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force encourages all financial institutions to utilize educational opportunities to prepare against the growing electronic threats.”
About SWACHA:
SWACHA-The Electronic Payments Resource®, is one of the largest not-for-profit regional payments associations in the country with approximately 1,100 members across the Southwest. SWACHA is the resource of choice for financial institutions and corporations in the areas of education, training, payments system risks and knowledge about electronic payments. For more information visit:
Web - www.swacha.org
Facebook -www.facebook.com/bringingpaymentstogether
Twitter - @SWACHA
About TBEC:
The Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force, composed of participants from banks, law enforcement agencies, trade associations, and regulatory agencies, was formed to address the growing threat of electronic crimes with the realization that these crimes represent a collective threat that requires the collaborative efforts of several different sectors
About FS-ISAC
Launched in 1999, FS-ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to 1998's Presidential Directive 63. That directive ― later updated by 2003's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 ― mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure.
Constantly gathering reliable and timely information from its members, financial services providers, commercial security firms, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement and other trusted resources, the FS-ISAC is uniquely positioned to quickly disseminate physical and cyber threat alerts and other critical information. This information includes analysis of these threats and recommended risk mitigation solutions.
###
“SWACHA and the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force are organizing this event because it is imperative that financial institutions fully understand how exposed they are to cyber criminals remotely accessing their customers’ business accounts,” said Dennis Simmons, AAP, SWACHA president and CEO. “These cases of business account takeovers are getting more prominent. Three lawsuits were filed against banks in the past 12 months alleging liability for business account takeover losses, totaling more than $1.5 million. It is essential for our industry to have the tools and the knowledge to quickly identify when fraud is taking place and to swiftly shut it down.”
Business account takeover occurs when cyber criminals remotely take control of a business account at a bank or credit union in order to initiate fraudulent transactions. They gain control of business accounts by stealing online banking credentials. The most common method of stealing credentials is by infecting a business’ workstation through malware software commonly distributed through email, social networking sites or malicious web sites.
The event will be held at LaQuinta Inn & Suites Medical Center, 4431 Horizon Hill Blvd in San Antonio from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Charles Bretz with FS-ISAC and Bretz LLC will moderate an exercise about the real world threats posed by business customer's computers infected with malware and data breaches and review many current threats and attacks.
“Corporate account hijacking represents a persistent and significant threat to the banking industry, and especially to financial institutions offering wire transfer and ACH origination services via the Internet,” said Charles Cooper, Texas Banking Commissioner. “To address this threat we formed the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force in 2010, which is modeled after the U.S. Secret Service’s electronic crimes task force. The cooperative efforts of this task force comprised of the U.S. Secret Service, SWACHA, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, and the Texas Bankers Association are crucial in helping the banking industry defend against this threat. I encourage all financial institutions to take advantage of educational opportunities regarding corporate account hijacking, as this threat will only continue to grow.”
“The Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force is composed of participants from banks, law enforcement agencies, trade associations, and regulatory agencies. It was formed to address the growing threat of electronic crimes with the realization that these crimes represent a collective threat that requires the collaborative efforts of several different sectors,” said Pete Villarreal, Co-Chair, Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force. “The U.S. Secret Service is a key partner and the task force is modeled after their electronic crimes task forces. The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) was formed in 1865 to suppress counterfeiting of U.S. currency. It is the original protector of our nation’s monetary system. As our monetary system has evolved, so have the methods used by the USSS to protect the monetary system, including the structure of task forces. The traditional task force model consisted primarily of law enforcement personnel. The Secret Service expanded that approach to also include local and state law enforcement agencies, private industry, and academia. By forging interactive relationships with private sector entities and scholars, the task forces are open to a wealth of resources. Another important element of the USSS task force model is placing a strong emphasis on prevention and education. Investigating a crime after it has occurred is not the best method for protecting our monetary system. The Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force encourages all financial institutions to utilize educational opportunities to prepare against the growing electronic threats.”
About SWACHA:
SWACHA-The Electronic Payments Resource®, is one of the largest not-for-profit regional payments associations in the country with approximately 1,100 members across the Southwest. SWACHA is the resource of choice for financial institutions and corporations in the areas of education, training, payments system risks and knowledge about electronic payments. For more information visit:
Web - www.swacha.org
Facebook -www.facebook.com/bringingpaymentstogether
Twitter - @SWACHA
About TBEC:
The Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force, composed of participants from banks, law enforcement agencies, trade associations, and regulatory agencies, was formed to address the growing threat of electronic crimes with the realization that these crimes represent a collective threat that requires the collaborative efforts of several different sectors
About FS-ISAC
Launched in 1999, FS-ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to 1998's Presidential Directive 63. That directive ― later updated by 2003's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 ― mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure.
Constantly gathering reliable and timely information from its members, financial services providers, commercial security firms, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement and other trusted resources, the FS-ISAC is uniquely positioned to quickly disseminate physical and cyber threat alerts and other critical information. This information includes analysis of these threats and recommended risk mitigation solutions.
###
Contact
Granado Communications Group
Chris Martin
214-599-8467
www.swacha.org
Chris Martin
214-599-8467
www.swacha.org
Contact
Categories