Top 7 Trend Articles of 2022. . .

 . . .For ISOs of Small Financial Institutions.

Welcome to our annual T7 article:  a list of our favorite trend articles from the past year.  Our intent: help you organize your thoughts as you work through your strategic planning process.  We hope reviewing these articles will help you create a list of “outside-the-bank” ideas.

Some of the authors of these articles are friends of infotex, others we have not met.  We avoid mainstream authors (like Schneier or Krebs) and try to make the trend articles “bank related.”  We’re queuing up this year’s list like a David Letterman’s Top Ten list, saving our favorite for last!

Trend Article #7:  Returning from last year is The Magnificent Seven.  Okay, we admit we’re biased, but if you want an article that addresses the Top Seven Trends . . . as we see them . . .  an annual list of the top seven trends that the typical community-based banks may be facing, this is a great start.  And, by the way, want to know an easy way to address these trends?  Present our M7 list to your board of directors.

Trend Article #6: Attack surface management.  As your organization’s digital footprint grows, it is important to see cybersecurity from the perspective of both a defender and an attacker, which is where attack surface management comes in.  If you’ve spent years as a network defender, it can be difficult to make the adjustment, but you’ll be glad you did.

Trend Article #5:  E&Y’s seven trends that will drive enterprise technology in 2022.  This article includes some of the usual suspects such as the continuing proliferation of work from home (and hybrid work), but it also includes some relatively new issues such as how supply chain disruptions may impact security in the coming years.

Trend Article #4: The Financial Brand’s 2022 Banking Trends.  Following decades of digitization, banks are grappling with “digital humanization,” or trying to connect and communicate with clients who are increasingly less likely to visit branches in person.  While a lot of attention has been paid to employees who are now suddenly working from home, there has been less coverage of customers who have shifted to online resources…and the problems that may come along with them.

Trend Article #3:  Gartner’s report on geopolitical risk following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  The sharp increase in cyberattacks as Russia’s campaign in Ukraine continues has drawn attention to issues regarding geopolitical risk in technology, and how much work remains to be done.  While we try to remain optimistic about the world, it’s likely that geopolitical technology risk will be something that remains pertinent for a long time to come.

Trend Article #2:  NIST Guidance on planning a move to Zero Trust architecture.  Alluded to in a few other entries this year has been the concept of zero trust, and not to be left out of the discussion NIST has released a guide for Federal agencies considering the change.  NIST’s guidance is likely to be used as a reference when future regulations are considered.  In fact, the 2021 AIO guidance points to it, so getting started now may put you and your organization ahead of the curve.

Trend Article #1:  CISA’s Top Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities.  While some subjects come and go from these annual trends lists the current list of routinely exploited vulnerabilities from the CISA includes many familiar threats, a reminder that some things in cybersecurity never change.  Customer and employee awareness, patch management, and routinely updated policies and procedures can always go a very long way, regardless of what new threats are on the horizon.

2022/23 is shaking up to be a scary year in trends.  Let us know which trend articles you think we missed!  And don’t forget, you can leave anonymous feedback at feedback.infotex.com.

Original article by Dan Hadaway CRISC CISA CISM. Founder and Managing Partner, infotex