Central banks, depository institutions, and FinTech organizations continue to see a rise in high-profile, high-intensity cyber-attacks. The World Economic Forum estimates the economic cost of cyber-crime in 2016 was $3 trillion; moreover, research firm Cybersecurity Ventures estimates this doubling to $6 trillion by 2021.

This was the landscape laid out by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Kenneth C. Montgomery at the Boston Fed’s 2017 Cybersecurity Conference. The conference, now in its second year, is part of the Boston Fed’s cybersecurity efforts aimed at mitigating risk to the financial system.

On May 1, leaders from New England financial institutions came together to connect with peers, learn about cyber challenges facing the banking industry, and consider opportunities for future innovation.

“Cyber continues to be the number one operational and enterprise level risk confronting the financial services industry,” Montgomery said. “Every Board of Directors, CEO, and CIO knows they are responsible for cybersecurity and the importance to their organization and its reputation. The need for a measured, multi-faceted approach to cybersecurity has become essential.”

The event featured presentations from Federal Reserve leaders, as well as cybersecurity specialists representing law enforcement, the intelligence community, and regulators, among others.

Topics included the benefits of threat sharing and peer networks; protecting data, reputation, and wealth; business email compromise and fraudulent transactions in New England; international perspective on cybersecurity efforts of the Nigerian financial services industry; a panel discussion on cyber regulation with representatives from multiple regulatory agencies; and finally, an update from the Federal Reserve on progress of the Faster and Secure Payments Task Force.

In addition to this cybersecurity conference series, the Boston Fed hosts biweekly convenings for small- and medium-sized depository institutions through its Cyber-threat Sharing Forum – where institutions share information about emerging cyber-threats and solutions. Later in 2017, the threat sharing group will expand its regional outreach through satellite locations and streaming across New England. 

The conference agenda, speakers, presentations, and summary videos are available here. View the conference’s Twitter moment for top takeaways from each presenter.