Leading Financial and Cybersecurity Experts to Converge at ISMG’s NYC Summit

The 2024 Financial Services Cybersecurity Summit organized by ISMG is set to commence this Thursday in New York City. The event aims to unite key industry leaders and security experts to confront the rising cyber threats faced by the financial sector, focusing on resilience strategies that can be implemented in the wake of recent attacks.

This annual summit is hosted at the New York Marriott Downtown in Manhattan and is one of ISMG’s most significant events of the year, attracting cybersecurity professionals and executives from diverse sectors. Attendees will include representatives from government bodies and organizations within finance and technology, such as experts from the U.S. Treasury and the FBI, along with innovators from Google Cloud Security, who will discuss the latest advancements in safeguarding against evolving cyber threats.

According to Tom Field, senior vice president of editorial at ISMG, the full-day summit serves as the largest North American event for the organization this year and takes place shortly after the pivotal presidential election. Field emphasized that although lofty political discussions will be avoided, the focus will remain on the responsibilities of security leaders, the transformation of Security Operations (SecOps), cyber insurance implications, and the protection of digital identities.

An exciting feature of the summit will be a deepfake tabletop exercise, allowing participants to navigate realistic cyber threat scenarios in an interactive format. This session is designed to provide actionable strategies and insights that attendees can quickly apply to bolster their organizations’ crisis management and incident response capabilities.

A particularly notable session, titled “Protecting Digital Identity: Combatting Account Takeovers in Financial Services,” will feature an array of experts. This includes Anthony Scarola, senior vice president at Apple Bank, and Carlos Suarez, deputy information security officer at Helaba, who will unpack the intricacies of account takeover attacks, current trends in identity-based threats, and robust frameworks for identity and access management. Additionally, a panel featuring Aaron Simpson of Hunton & Williams, Seth Rose from the U.S. Treasury’s Cyber Investigations Unit, and Michael Woodson of Sonesta Hotels will address emerging financial cybercrime, including synthetic identity fraud and advanced social engineering tactics.

Jennifer Eisenhofer, vice president of events at ISMG, acknowledges the urgency of the situation, stating that the sector is currently at a critical juncture. The summit aims to foster collaboration, share innovative insights, and cultivate a holistic approach to cybersecurity in light of troubling trends in cyber threats.