Content by Tracy Kitten

Fed's Fast Payment Effort Won't Change After SWIFT Heists

Tracy Kitten  •  July 18, 2016

The Federal Reserve's strategy for oversight of the U.S. migration toward faster payments won't change in the wake of the heists that exploited SWIFT payments, says Fed official Marianne Crowe. The long-term security of U.S. payments has always been a priority for the Fed's study of faster payments, she says.

PCI-DSS Compliance: Are CEOs Buying In?

Tracy Kitten  •  July 5, 2016

Ten years after the launch of the PCI Data Security Standards Council, the key to ensuring ongoing compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard is winning CEO buy-in worldwide, says Stephen Orfei, general manager of the council.

Improving Fraud Prevention After SWIFT-Related Heists

Tracy Kitten  •  June 30, 2016

In the wake of recent SWIFT-related interbank payment heists, more banks are monitoring transactions for anomalous behavior in an attempt to catch fraud in real time, says Andrew Davies, a fraud prevention expert at core banking services provider Fiserv.

FBI Flash Alerts: How Can They Be Improved?

Tracy Kitten  •  June 28, 2016

In a video interview, FBI supervisory special agent Dan Wierzbicki says the bureau wants to work with businesses to improve the information in its cybersecurity alerts as well as to identify threats sooner.

PCI-DSS: Building Global Acceptance

Tracy Kitten  •  June 27, 2016

Achieving international acceptance of PCI-DSS is an ongoing challenge, says Jeremy King, international director of the PCI Security Standards Council, who's working to educate merchants about baseline security that goes far beyond cardholder data protection.

How Will PCI-DSS Evolve in Next 10 Years?

Tracy Kitten  •  June 20, 2016

As the PCI Security Standards Council celebrates its 10th anniversary, Troy Leach, the council's chief technology offer, offers his assessment of how its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard could evolve in the next 10 years.

CEO Fraud Attackers Seek Personal Details, FBI Warns

Jeremy Kirk , Tracy Kitten  •  June 17, 2016

The FBI is warning U.S. businesses to beware of business email compromise scams focused not just on creating fraudulent wire transfers, but also stealing personally identifiable information. Experts, however, are criticizing the FBI's alert as being too little, too late.

ABA: Retailers Should Meet Higher Cybersecurity Standards

Tracy Kitten  •  June 15, 2016

In an interview, Doug Johnson of the American Bankers Association explains why the ABA rejects the Retail Industry Leaders Association's contention that a legislative proposal to hold retailers to the same cybersecurity standards as banks is unfair.

PCI Turns 10: Will It Last Another 10 Years?

Tracy Kitten  •  June 14, 2016

As we prepare to mark the tenth anniversary of the PCI Security Standards Council, it's time to assess the impact PCI-DSS has had on payments security and consider whether it will remain a viable standard 10 years from now. A series of upcoming reports will address these topics.

Morgan Stanley's SEC Penalty Called Inadequate

Tracy Kitten  •  June 13, 2016

The $1 million penalty that the SEC imposed on Morgan Stanley for its failure to prevent a former employee from compromising 730,000 client accounts is too low to send a strong message to financial services firms about the need for stronger cybersecurity and internal fraud controls, security experts say.

Retailers: Don't Require Us to Meet Bank Security Standards

Tracy Kitten  •  June 13, 2016

The Retail Industry Leaders Association is battling against passage of a national data security and breach notification bill known as the Data Security Act of 2015, arguing it would unreasonably require retailers to meet some of the same security standards as banks, says Austen Jensen, a RILA vice president.

Will SWIFT-Related Heists Trigger More Regulatory Oversight?

Tracy Kitten  •  June 8, 2016

Now that both the FBI and the FFIEC have issued alerts calling attention to the risks associated with interbank messaging and wholesale payments in the wake of SWIFT-related heists, U.S. institutions should brace for more regulatory scrutiny of bank-to-bank payments, financial fraud experts say.

Analysis: Bank Sues Insurer for Fraud Coverage, Wins

Tracy Kitten  •  June 6, 2016

Will a federal appellate court ruling in favor of a Minnesota bank that sued its insurer for coverage of costs associated with a fraudulent wire transfer have a big impact on similar cases? Experts offer an analysis.

Court Clears Way for Banks' Home Depot Suit to Proceed

Tracy Kitten  •  June 1, 2016

A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit filed by card issuers against Home Depot over the retailer's massive 2014 payments breach to proceed. In making the ruling, the judge noted that the banks' allegations regarding the retailer's security negligence appear to have merit.

Is the US Ready for Faster Payments?

Tracy Kitten  •  May 31, 2016

Before moving to faster payments, U.S. banks should scrutinize the security gaps exploited in the SWIFT-related bank heists and build effective risk-mitigation strategies that include stronger layers of authentication, financial fraud experts say.