Newsroom

November 21, 2014

NSA raises cybersecurity concerns

National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers told the House Select Committee on Intelligence last week that he expects a major cyber-attack on U.S. infrastructure within the next few years.

Rogers told the committee that the government is "better prepared … than it was two years ago" and that he is confident in the established protocol, according to CUInfoSecurity. Rogers said the attack would come from "some foreign nation or some individual or group."

At the NCUA Board meeting last week, the board approved a budget that allows for the new position of a cybersecurity manager for the Office of Examination and Insurance. In a memo, the office of the agency chief financial officer said the position would allow the agency to "be better prepared for and promote the awareness of critical risks and related threats … to protect the financial service industry."

The memo also recommended the addition of two other positions – a classified information security specialist and an intelligence specialist – for the NCUA Office of Continuity and Security Management, in order to strengthen agency security programs.

Also last week, Staples confirmed that its point-of-sale systems were breached by malware earlier this year – but did not announce how many of its stores were affected. As the holiday shopping season begins, NAFCU continues to push for a national data security standard for retailers and the timely disclosure of data security breaches to consumers. The association is also pushing Congress to establish a bipartisan working group to develop legislative recommendations to address the ongoing retailer breaches.