Mississippi State, Cadence Bank align to help businesses battle fraud
Contact: Harriet Laird, 91传媒 Office of Public Affairs; Danielle Kernell, Cadence Bank
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A forum to help local businesses address the critical issue of cyberterrorism and develop strategies to guard against cyber fraud was held Thursday [Sept. 3] by Cadence Bank in partnership with 91传媒.
Speakers from Cadence and 91传媒鈥檚 Distributed Analytics and Security Institute addressed more than 120 business owners and executives for the forum 鈥淐yber Attacks: Is Your Business Ready for Battle?鈥
鈥淲e often hear it鈥檚 a matter of when, not if, an attack will occur,鈥 said Jerry Toney, president, Cadence Bank Mississippi. 鈥淲e felt it was imperative that we take the lead in addressing such a monumental threat against businesses in the Golden Triangle. Helping local companies protect their financial assets is another way we can contribute to keeping our community strong and healthy.鈥
Presenters included Dave Dampier, director of Mississippi State鈥檚 DASI; Wesley McGrew, assistant professor for DASI; Roy Sexton, director of corporate security at Cadence Bank and former U.S. Secret Service; and Katrina King, treasury management executive at Cadence.
Dampier explored recent occurrences of cyber incidents in the news, vulnerabilities that enabled these incidents, and a framework for dealing with cyber intrusions.聽He stressed that cyber intrusions will happen, and every organization must have an adaptive incident response program in place for dealing with intrusion incidents. Such programs, he contended, are essential in minimizing the loss or theft of information, returning impacted systems back to normal operating status quickly, and properly dealing with the legal issues that may result from these incidents.
McGrew discussed the importance of penetration testing, including what to expect at each stage of the process.
鈥淓very day, organizations face advanced threat perpetrators who are well organized, funded and motivated to compromise their targets,鈥 he explained. 鈥淭o have a shot, companies have to think like thieves.鈥
He emphasized that simulating relevant and realistic threats against a business鈥檚 network, performed by a skilled聽third-party team, should be a critical part of every company鈥檚 cybersecurity defense plan.
Sexton discussed the shift from the physical risks of years鈥 past to today鈥檚 cybersecurity threats. Former special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service鈥檚 Birmingham District Office, Sexton saw an explosion in cyberterrorism when he returned to the field in the early 2000s as well as increased involvement by the U.S. Secret Service. He challenged the audience with the question, 鈥淎re we prepared for the evolution of terrorism as we knew it?鈥
King continued with a conversation on cybersecurity best practice strategies. She urged businesses to educate their employees about cyber fraud risks and empower them as the front line of defense.
鈥淓nsuring that anti-virus/spyware software is installed, functional and updated with the most current version is a must,鈥 she added.
King recommended that all businesses use Positive Pay and ACH Positive Pay on every account. 鈥淭hese tools act as fraud prevention systems for check and electronic fraud by alerting businesses to potentially fraudulent transactions before they impact a company鈥檚 accounts,鈥 she said.