Tech Talk: The cloud, digital dollars, FedNow, and more!

• FIs, digital experiences, and the cloud
• NY Fed & FIs upbeat on digital dollar pilot
• Cybersecurity is driving banks to the cloud
• Prepping for the FedNow instant payments
• Loyalty: Banks try digital gift cards
• Digital Euro: What do banks need to consider?
• Will AI personalize data readiness?
• Is AI the magic bullet for open banking?
• Payments: Credit unions shift to innovating
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches & Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

FIs, digital experiences, and the cloud
The financial industry is at a turning point in its history as more users flock to digital banking. A crop of digital-native alternatives has sprung up to satisfy this electronic demand, with FinTechs and challenger banks offering holistic financial products that could potentially replace traditional financial institutions. PYMNTS.com has the details.

NY Fed & FIs upbeat on digital dollar pilot
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says that proof-of-concept run with a host of banks has demonstrated the feasibility of a regulated digital asset settlement platform supported by shared ledger technology. Finextra has the details.

Cybersecurity is driving banks to the cloud
Banks can use the cloud similarly to other industries, leveraging it to harness more advanced data analysis while offloading core systems away from limited on-premises technology stacks. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Prepping for the FedNow instant payments
The new system will allow banks, businesses, and consumers to send and receive payments in about 10 seconds anytime, any day. As with other payment systems, there are fees associated with the service, and banks will have to decide who foots the bill — merchants, consumers, neither, or both. Computerworld has the details.

Loyalty: Banks try digital gift cards
While credit unions and banks are constantly searching for new ways to connect with their members and customers, those members and customers are simultaneously looking for ways to save money. This is why digital engagement tools like self-loaded gift cards are proving to be game changers. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Digital Euro: What do banks need to consider?
A digital dollar may be coming but it appears that Europe is ahead of us at this point. What can we learn from their experience. Look at their latest report on retail CBDCs and wholesale CBDCs, and the next steps banks should be taking. Finextra has the details.

Will AI personalize data readiness?
Compliance is a great area for firms to start with. Standards and governance are more important than ever across the financial industry, and AI provides firms an opportunity to add extra anomaly detection capabilities to their existing first-line/second-line constructs. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Is AI the magic bullet for open banking?
2023 has seen a surge in interest in the use of AI in just about any and every industry you can name, and finance is no exception. The success of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have encouraged the proponents of Open Banking to suggest that maybe this is what has been needed. Finextra has the details.

Payments: Credit unions shift to innovating
For financial institutions at the moment, the top-of-mind innovations revolve around mobile banking and around digital lending, with automated or instant loan decisioning. Likewise, forward-thinking CUs also need to be focused on digital issuance, or instant replacement of debit and credit card credentials. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Spams, Scams, and Breaches

• Dark Reading: Chip Giant TSMC Blames $70M LockBit Breach on IT Hardware Supplier
• Help Net Security: One third of security breaches go unnoticed by security professionals
• Krebs on Security: Who’s Behind the DomainNetworks Snail Mail Scam?
• SecurityWeek: Ransomware Criminals Are Dumping Kids' Private Files Online After School Hacks
• TechCrunch: TSMC confirms data breach after LockBit cyberattack on third-party supplier

Updates, Patches, and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current Activity
• Tech Republic: Malware Targets Browser Variants, Crypto Wallets & Password Managers
• SecurityWeek: 28,000 Impacted by Data Breach at Pepsi Bottling Ventures
• TechCrunch: More organizations confirm MOVEit-related breaches as hackers claim to publish stolen data
• SecurityWeek: Android Security Updates Patch 3 Exploited Vulnerabilities
• CISA: Increased Truebot Activity Infects U.S. and Canada Based Networks
• Dark Reading: SSH Servers Hit in 'Proxyjacking' Cyberattacks
• SecurityWeek: Truebot Hackers Exploiting Netwrix Auditor Flaw: CISA, FBI Alert
• Dark Reading: Patchless Cisco Flaw Breaks Cloud Encryption for ACI Traffic
• Naked Security: WordPress plugin lets users become admins – Patch early, patch often!
• Dark Reading: Researchers Develop Exploit Code for Critical Fortinet VPN Bug
• Naked Security: Ghostscript bug could allow rogue documents to run system commands
• Dark Reading: 3 Critical RCE Bugs Threaten Industrial Solar Panels
• Naked Security: Firefox 115 is out, says farewell to users of older Windows and Mac versions
• SecurityWeek: 200,000 WordPress Sites Exposed to Attacks Exploiting Flaw in 'Ultimate Member' Plugin

See what other current hot cyber and technology topics affecting financial institutions BOL users are discussing in the Technology Forum.

And on the lighter side...

Not all robots are perfect. Sometimes they FAIL.