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Jones Walker Unveils 2024 Cybersecurity Survey Exposing Critical Gaps in Community and Mid-Size Banks

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The survey reveals under preparedness in prevention, third-party vendor risks, and the need for technological advancement

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Jones Walker LLP today announced the release of its 2024 Community and Mid-Size Banks Cybersecurity Survey, the fourth in the law firm’s series of industry-focused, biannual cybersecurity studies. The comprehensive report highlights significant vulnerabilities and areas for improvement among community and mid-size banks in the United States.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/jones_walker/9234351-en-jones-walker-2024-cybersecurity-survey

Based on responses from 125 banking executives, including senior risk, technology, and information security leaders, the survey provides a detailed assessment of the current state of cybersecurity awareness, confidence, and preparedness in the banking sector.

This survey is the national law firm’s fourth on the topic of cybersecurity for critical industries. In 2018, the firm’s first survey focused on the greater maritime industry. The second survey, in 2020, focused on the midstream oil and gas sector, and in 2022, the third survey focused on the nation’s ports and terminals.

Key Takeaways:

1. Post-Incident Regulatory Compliance is Slowly Improving, but Prevention and Preparedness are Lacking: The banking sector is highly regulated, which makes data security, data privacy, and data breach compliance a top priority for banking executives. However, only 42% of respondents felt their own bank was very prepared for cyber threats, considering that only 61% of banks have established specific incident response teams with clearly assigned roles and responsibilities and 37% fail to encrypt sensitive information.2. The Lack of Due Diligence Performed on Third-Party Vendors is a Significant Risk: While virtually all, 99%, of community and mid-size banks rely in part or in full on the services of third-party vendors to address their cybersecurity needs, only 71% hold them accountable for contractual, legal, or regulatory liability, and a mere 23% require vendors to indemnify them against data breaches.3. Banks Are Underutilizing Outside Counsel and Cybersecurity Professionals: Fifty-seven percent of respondents do not engage experienced cybersecurity attorneys, increasing their exposure to regulatory and legal risks. In addition, only 32% use outside pre- and post-incident forensic consultants, potentially hindering effective breach response and recovery. On top of that, 59% have not reviewed their cyber insurance policies to ensure adequate coverage.4. Responsibly Embracing Emerging Technology Delivers Significant Advantages: Community and mid-size banks are hesitant to implement emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) for cybersecurity enhancements. With large banks adopting AI, this hesitancy may make community and mid-size banks more vulnerable targets if they do not keep pace.

Author Commentary:

“Cyber threats are evolving rapidly, and community and mid-size banks must enhance their cybersecurity posture to protect their customers and assets,” said Andy Lee, a partner and co-leader of Jones Walker’s privacy, data strategy, and artificial intelligence team and Technology Industry Team. “Our survey reveals that while banks are aware of the risks, many are not taking sufficient proactive measures to prevent breaches.”

Tom Walker, a partner on the firm’s Banking & Financial Services Industry Team and a former community bank executive vice president and director, said, “Third-party vendors are a critical resource for community banks, but also a significant source of risk. As our survey clearly points out, community and mid-size banks can do more to mitigate the risks posed by third-party vendors to their information systems, reputations, and customers’ data by following industry and regulatory standards for planning, due diligence, selection, contract negotiation, and monitoring.”

“Banks are highly regulated, but many third-party vendors are not. It is critical that banks conduct thorough due diligence on their vendors and ensure robust contractual protections are in place,” added Rob Carothers, a partner on the firm’s Banking & Financial Services Industry Team.

“As big banks continue to bolster defenses with sophisticated security technologies, cybercriminals are shifting focus to community and other smaller banks,” warned Jason Loring, a partner and co-leader of Jones Walker’s privacy, data strategy, and artificial intelligence team. “AI-based tools, however, can serve as a great equalizer for smaller banks that may have more limited resources, so long as those tools are implemented responsibly. This can help these banks maintain levels of fraud protection, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency commensurate with larger institutions.”

“We urge small and mid-size banks to shift their security mindset to one focused on cyber resilience, which emphasizes the need to anticipate new threats and continuously improve cybersecurity measures, rather than the traditional notion of achieving a static state of cybersecurity,” encouraged Lara Sevener, a partner and co-leader of the firm’s Technology Industry Team. “As security threats are constantly evolving, focusing on a culture of cyber resilience – in which organizations implement a holistic approach that includes anticipation of cyber threats likely to occur, implementation and continuous improvement of security practices and defenses, and a strong focus on business continuity in the wake of an attack – will help to minimize the disruption and negative impacts caused by any future cyber event.”

Best Practices:

Enhance Focus on Prevention and Preparedness: Shift from reactive compliance to proactive measures, including regular training, testing, and updating of cybersecurity policies.Increase Oversight of Third-Party Vendors: Conduct thorough due diligence, enforce robust contractual terms, and hold vendors accountable for security obligations.Leverage Outside Legal Counsel: Engage experienced cybersecurity attorneys and consultants to mitigate regulatory and legal risks and improve breach response.Adopt Emerging Technologies: Embrace AI and other advanced technologies to enhance cybersecurity defenses and stay competitive.

Given community and mid-size banks’ unique position at the center of local and regional economies and the trillions of dollars in assets and loans they collectively manage, they are a prime target for threat actors. We commend the strides the sector has taken so far and urge stakeholders to bolster their cyber readiness to further improve their banks’ defenses.

The 2024 Community and Mid-Size Banks Cybersecurity Survey is part of Jones Walker’s ongoing commitment to provide valuable insights into cybersecurity trends across critical industries.

About Jones Walker
Jones Walker LLP (joneswalker.com) is among the largest 145 law firms in the United States. With offices in Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, and Texas, we serve local, regional, national, and international business interests. The firm is committed to providing a comprehensive range of legal services to major multinational public and private corporations, Fortune® 500 companies, money center banks, worldwide insurers, and emerging companies doing business in the United States and abroad.

All of the sources quoted in this news release are available for interviews and private briefings. Please follow a discussion about our 2024 Community and Mid-Size Banks Cybersecurity Survey on LinkedIn: #JonesWalkerCyberSurvey.

Media Contact:
Amanda Ferrari
aferrari@hellermanllc.com
440-465-6162

 

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SOURCE Jones Walker LLP

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Huawei Cloud in France: Building an AI-Native Cloud to Amplify Intelligence on the Tech Stage

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PARIS, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — HUAWEI CONNECT 2024 PARIS commenced today, featuring the first Huawei Cloud Summit France. Huawei Cloud is building an AI-native cloud through systematic innovation and service reshaping. Moving forward, Huawei Cloud will continue to drive innovation in both the “AI for Cloud” and “Cloud for AI” directions, accelerating the intelligent transformation across industries in France.

Jacqueline Shi, President of Huawei Cloud Global Marketing and Sales Service, delivered a welcome speech in her digital presence built using Huawei Cloud MetaStudio. She stated, “Innovation is the heart of our success, our competitiveness, and our growth. That’s why we invest heavily in R&D to bring you the most secure and reliable cloud services possible, including cloud native, AI, and big data. In Europe, Huawei Cloud has collaborated with over 500 local partners to deliver a wide range of industry-specific solutions and proven expertise, enabling European businesses to expedite their cloud adoption, leverage global resources, and achieve leapfrog growth.”

In his keynote speech, William Dong, President of Huawei Cloud Marketing, highlighted the importance of AI in building economic moats. To this end, Huawei Cloud launches Pangu models to enable intelligent upgrades across industries, with over 400 use cases in 30 industries now benefiting from Huawei Cloud’s AI-native cloud infrastructure that extends cutting-edge technologies and premium experiences to European customers. On the tech stage, Huawei Cloud is set to amplify intelligence.

Huawei Cloud’s AI-native strategy has been a cornerstone of the company’s innovation. This strategy is twofold: AI for Cloud and Cloud for AI, marking significant advancements in Huawei Cloud’s capabilities. “AI for Cloud” means integrating Pangu models with cloud services for product R&D, data governance, security, and O&M to make them more intelligent and efficient.

With full-stack systemic innovations, “Cloud for AI” covers data centers, cloud platform architectures, and infrastructure services, enabling efficient and high-performance data preparation, training, inference, and application of foundation models. The distributed cloud database GaussDB features high performance, high intelligence, and easy migration. Huawei Cloud Stack 8.5 provides more than 120 locally deployed cloud services and 50 industry-specific solutions, building the optimal hybrid cloud for intelligent transformation.

At this summit, Huawei Cloud officially released the Flexus cloud services for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France. Flexus feature flexible specifications, AI-driven high speed, 6x burst speed, compute hot upgrade, and ultimate experience.

Presently, Huawei Cloud has more than 500 customers, partners, and developers in France. Song Wanying, President of Huawei Cloud France, shared insights on fostering business growth through cloud innovation and introduced new media & entertainment, e-commerce, and retail solutions for the French market, furthering intelligent initiatives.

Huawei Cloud has upgraded media services in a 3E approach: efficiency, experience, and evolution. For instance, AIGC for virtual humans can significantly reduce the time required for short video production from days to mere minutes. In terms of experience, Huawei Cloud leverages its self-developed RTP protocol to minimize latency to 500 ms and reduce frame freezing to 10%. For business model evolution, Huawei Cloud offers virtual human technology to facilitate efficient video production, leading to new business opportunities and growth.

In retail and e-commerce, Huawei Cloud has developed the B.R.A.N.D. model to assist retailers in driving innovation and growth. Through professional services, deterministic operations, security, reliability, and 16 sub-scenario solutions, B.R.A.N.D. enables retailers to build agile, efficient, and secure business systems.

In terms of ecosystem expansion, Huawei Cloud has partnered with Station F, the world’s largest startup incubator, to launch a sustainability-themed incubation program. This program aims to provide comprehensive support for startups, including cloud resources, investment opportunities, and dedicated office spaces. Additionally, Huawei Cloud and 20 ecosystem partners have unveiled the Industry Partner Innovation Program at the summit.

This two-day event features a packed agenda, including the partner forum and the Cloud Native Elite Club (CNEC) roundtable. At this year’s HUAWEI CONNECT Europe, CNEC returned to Europe and invited its first members to join this technical community built for European technology pioneers.

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ALBERT GAHFI, NEWCO CAPITAL GROUP CEO, NOMINATED FOR THE U.S. FINTECH AWARDS’ INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

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NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NewCo Capital Group is proud to announce that Albert Gahfi, CEO of NewCo Capital Group and Co-Founder and Director of Bizcap, has been nominated for the prestigious Innovator of the Year Award by the U.S. FinTech Awards. This recognition highlights Albert’s groundbreaking contributions to the FinTech sector and his dedication to founding companies that empower small businesses with forward-thinking capital solutions.

We are focused on what’s next—continuing to build the tools and services that will drive the future of FinTech

As a proven enterprise-building founder and CEO, Albert co-founded Kings Cash Group and oversaw its merger with a large FinTech consortium that included an SEC-registered fund. As the Co-Founder and CEO of NewCo Capital Group, Capytal.com, and NewCo Canada, as well as the co-founder of Melbourne-based BizCap, Albert’s global expansion strategy has led to the opening of offices in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and a recently announced strategic initiative in Asia via Singapore.

The nomination for Innovator of the Year underscores NewCo’s commitment to reshaping how small-to-medium businesses and enterprise companies access financing. Since its founding, NewCo has remained at the forefront of Specialty Finance within the FinTech sector, continually creating custom capital solutions that leverage advanced technology, nuanced underwriting, and a deep understanding of client needs.

Bruce Gurvitsch, Chief Revenue Officer for NewCo Capital Group and Capytal.com, commended the nomination, stating, “Albert’s nomination for Innovator of the Year reflects his unwavering pursuit of excellence—a drive that defines our mission at NewCo. We’re committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in FinTech, ensuring that SMBs have access to the capital they need for growth, job creation, and long-term success.”

NewCo and its affiliate companies have transformed traditional financing models, making it easier, faster, and more efficient for businesses to secure funding. With over $1.8 billion deployed across 40,000+ businesses globally, NewCo continues to lead the charge in specialized financing and working capital.

Reflecting on the nomination, Gahfi remarked, ‘This recognition from the U.S. FinTech Awards validates our efforts and inspires us to continue delivering the most innovative solutions to the market.’ He emphasized NewCo’s long-term vision, adding, ‘We are focused on what’s next—continuing to build the tools and services that will drive the future of FinTech. Our mission has always been to empower small businesses globally.’

For more information about NewCo Capital Group, visit www.NewCoCapitalGroup.com or email Info@NewCoCapitalGroup.com.

About NewCo Capital Group & Capytal.com

Founded in 2020, NewCo Capital Group and its affiliate companies empower SMBs globally with fast, accessible financing and funding. The companies have successfully deployed $1.8 billion to over 40,000 SMBs while maintaining a 4.9/5 Trustpilot rating.

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SOURCE NewCo Capital Group

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Enrollsy Unveils Brand Refresh and New Website to Enhance Enrollment Experience for Schools, Camps, Nonprofits, and More

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LEHI, Utah, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Enrollsy, the platform dedicated to making enrollment simple and accessible for organizations of all sizes, is thrilled to announce its brand refresh and launch of a new website at www.enrollsy.com. With a renewed focus on simplifying enrollment processes and delivering unparalleled support, Enrollsy’s brand refresh reinforces its commitment to empowering non-technical professionals with a seamless, user-friendly experience.

Enrollsy is online enrollment software made easy.

The name “Enrollsy” reflects the platform’s mission: combining “enroll” and “easy” to describe a solution that effortlessly manages the enrollment process—from sign-up to payments and communications—without requiring technical expertise or IT support. Enrollsy’s customizable platform is designed to solve enrollment challenges and make life easier for administrators everywhere.

Empowering Purpose, Mission, Vision, and Values

Driven by a purpose to create an exceptional experience from the first interaction to ongoing support, Enrollsy ensures every aspect of its service is tailored to customer needs. Enrollsy’s mission—to provide an amazing enrollment experience to 10 million people in a single year—drives the platform to innovate, simplify, and perfect enrollment solutions for organizations managing data, payments, and communications.

Enrollsy envisions a world where education, enrichment, and connection drive better outcomes, helping organizations fulfill their missions. As a trusted partner, Enrollsy shares its values with customers by prioritizing consistency, honoring commitments, and maintaining clear, actionable communication.

Unmatched Customer Experiences

Enrollsy’s brand refresh also highlights its commitment to delivering value through real-life customer success stories. Elizabeth Fizer, owner of Fizer Fine Art, shares, “Enrollsy transformed our registration process from an absolute nightmare to easily manageable. Their unmatched customer service and ability to tailor the software to meet our specific needs allowed us to offer flexible schedules and simplified invoicing—enabling me to focus on my family during a busy registration period. Parents found it easy and intuitive, which only enhanced our customer experience.”

Similarly, Matthew Vinson from Common Ground on the Hill, a nonprofit, noted, “Enrollsy exceeded our expectations by listening to our unique needs and creating a system that integrates with our existing applications seamlessly. They understood our operations and provided features we needed, making the registration process efficient and stress-free.”

Visit the New Enrollsy Website

Enrollsy’s reimagined website offers a refreshed look at how the platform simplifies enrollment, billing, and communication for education, enrichment, and nonprofit organizations across the U.S., Australia, and Canada. Visitors are invited to explore www.enrollsy.com to discover how Enrollsy’s solutions are transforming the enrollment experience and simplifying administrative processes.

About Enrollsy Enrollsy provides a complete, easy-to-use solution for managing enrollments, payments, and participant communications. Designed for non-technical professionals, Enrollsy’s mission is to simplify enrollment for organizations while delivering unmatched support and flexibility. Visit www.enrollsy.com to learn more about how Enrollsy is shaping the future of enrollment.

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SOURCE Enrollsy, Inc.

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