From Compliance to Resilience: Rethinking Risk Management in Today's Credit Union Environment
The golden rule of emergency preparedness is that it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Risk management is no exception.
Ask yourself, when it comes to your risk management strategy, do you have the bare minimum needed to pass an audit or do you have safeguards in place to protect yourself from security threats in this modern technological landscape?
Threat Evolution
The cybersecurity threats of today are not only more common, but also more sophisticated. Enhanced by AI-technology, social engineering attempts are becoming more believable with the rise of deepfakes, phishing and ransomware attacks. More people and institutions are falling victim to these modern threats, and it’s more important than ever to create ERM strategies that effectively stand against them to protect you and your members’ information.
The Exposure of Inaction
Risk management has often been viewed from the compliance lens, ensuring that your security measures and protocols are up to code to meet certain requirements, but maintaining the standard means your security is only standard as well. Security threats are evolving and risk management strategies must evolve with them, or risk being vulnerable. Risk management strategy stagnation can take many forms, whether that is outdated software, irrelevant employee training or a reactive approach to security planning. All of these things set you apart as an opportunity for fraudsters and scammers to take advantage of your out-of-date systems.
The cost of a security breach is an expensive one. Loss of member trust, leaked employee data, costly fines and reputational damage are just a few consequences. Protect yourself by focusing on more than just compliance.
Changing the Perspective
Instead, investing in your ERM through the perspective of resilience and effectiveness will allow the construction of a proactive strategy that prevents threats before they occur. Risk management doesn’t just require network security and a vigilant cybersecurity team. It requires effective policies and procedures, resources and education about security practices and individual buy-in to create an enterprise-wide approach to risk management.
Need a starting point? Build a solid risk management foundation with our solutions based on:
- Technologies that assess your risk by testing your defenses, identifying vulnerabilities and creating reports on how you can remedy your weaknesses.
- Expert insights from our partners and team to coach you through an ERM strategy that best fits your needs.
- Up-to-date education that keeps your team informed of modern-day threats, security best practices and how to respond to social engineering attempts.
Don’t just follow the standard for risk management, raise the bar.
Learn more about Vizo Financial’s risk management solutions!
Bryan Hoover is the product manager of compliance and risk for Vizo Financial. He is responsible for supporting the Corporate’s BSA and compliance efforts by monitoring emerging risk trends and issues, as well as assisting in developing and executing strategies that balance both risk and member experience. In addition, he conducts analyses and resolves complex issues by reviewing real-time payment activity in order to protect the integrity of both Vizo Financial’s and member credit unions’ financial transactions. He is also a Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE) and holds his Bank Secrecy Act Certification (BSACS) from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).