Recent research states that roughly two-thirds of companies say their executives get involved in security discussions, but for credit unions, it needs to be 100 percent of executives and, due to cyber threat risk, should extend beyond the executives directly to the board.

Cyber attacks, like last November’s hack of Sony Pictures, have motivated many to increase focus on external threats and begin having more discussions around real world cyber threats and overall preparedness.

Credit unions, like many other companies, have business units that submit regular requests to buy new cloud apps, the most popular being file-sharing services like Box, Dropbox, and Evernote. With most credit union infrastructure being built as fragmented layers of add-ons, over a period of many years, the security methods used to protect the legacy network and applications, as well as these new cloud applications, is severely lacking.

2015 is the year that credit unions must reinvent their security model to be more holistic and ready to face the sophistication of emerging threats. This doesn’t have to be a complete rip-out and replace initiative, and it can be accomplished much easier that most believe. Our team at CUdefender speaks regularly with credit union executives and boards who don’t realize some of the quick and cost effective steps they can take to have an immediate positive impact on their security posture.

The long-standing issue of security having a proper seat at the executive table should no longer be a problem. Now it needs another lift upwards to the board. Hopefully credit unions will have foresight to make cyber topics a substantial part of their 2015 board and strategic planning meetings.

Credit unions looking for security planning assistance or cyber threat protection can contact CUdefender at 1-888-632-4339 or visit http://www.cudefender.com for additional information.