Computer Security Systems

The word “hacking” has preconceived connotations, and most people don't quite grasp the whole concept that goes into the process of hacking. Hackers have a notorious reputation. But there’s a side of hacking that most people aren’t aware of: ethical hacking. You don't hear about the ethical hacking in the news, but there are people out there with the same job description fighting the malicious hackers daily, and they get the bad rep.

Electricity is essentially the lifeblood of the modern, technological society that we enjoy, for without it, the devices and machinery that enable our economy would not be able to function. The US grid is aging, and one of the tools for modernizing the system is the incorporation of computerized systems that allow for the rapid monitoring and control of the equipment used in the grid. Connecting these systems to the internet has increased the ability to remotely control aspects of the grid, but this has come with increasing concern for the grid’s cybersecurity.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 20211 (CAA) requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) to submit annually for seven years a report focused on cybersecurity to Congress. The CAA calls for a description of measures the Board has undertaken to strengthen cybersecurity within the financial services sector and with respect to the Board’s functions as a regulator, including the supervision and regulation of financial institutions and third-party service providers.

The OCC charters, regulates, and supervises national banks and federal savings associations and licenses, regulates, and supervises federal branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations (collectively the “federal banking system”). As of September 30, 2022, the federal banking system comprised 1,035 banks operating in the United States. In total, the banks within the federal banking system, excluding federal branches and agencies of foreign banks, hold $15.2 trillion of all assets of US commercial banks (64 percent of the total assets held by all US commercial banks).