Big banks are taking inspiration from government intelligence agencies when it comes to combating cybersecurity threats as command centers become the standard, according to Bill Stewart, partner at fintech consultancy Capco.

“If you’re a large [financial institution], for sure you have it. It’s getting to the point where more of the Fortune 500s than not are implementing” the command centers, also known as “fusion centers,” where different departments work together, Stewart said. “If you start going down the food chain to the small-bigs, mid-sized and small companies, they struggle to implement these things in the way that the large companies are doing because they don’t have the resources.”

Fusion centers bring together banks’ intelligence, security and IT operations to not only identify threats but develop a plan of action. According to Stewart, bank fusion centers mirror those the government developed after 9/11 to bring together intelligence from different agencies like the CIA, NSA and NRO. 

Although banks can use analysts and tools to gain intelligence, Stewart said security operations help banks act against threats. For example, banks use detection logic to look for patterns and detect threats like malware. IT departments, meanwhile, work closely with security and intelligence to manage bank systems like firewalls.

By bringing these departments together in a control room, banks avoid communication delays that can be critical when fighting cybersecurity. With COVID-19 and social distancing measures, fusion center operations have largely become remote, but Stewart said advances in technology make banks better suited to fight fraud remotely than in the past. Phishing and ransomware attacks have both increased since the start of the pandemic, he added.

Toronto-based TD launched fusion centers last year that have pivoted to technology “war rooms” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. These war rooms “are agile pods that enable us to virtually solve pressing problems,” Greg Keeley, executive vice president of enterprise technology at TD, previously told Bank Innovation. “How do we support customers, who are used to engaging one way, in a totally different way while doing completely remote work?” 

TD has fusion centers in Toronto, New Jersey and Singapore, but the bank has migrated to remote channels in the wake of COVID-19. According to Keeley, the bank brings together experts from cybersecurity, tech, legal, fraud and operations to help TD launch solutions quickly. 

See also: Fed: Big bank cyberattack could have serious spillover effects

Stewart, who has decades of experience in cybersecurity consulting, spent almost 30 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led the commercial cybersecurity business for the consulting firm. He also served in the Army National Guard for more than 20 years as a signal officer, earning the rank of lieutenant colonel, and said his time in the Army prepared him well for private sector cybersecurity. 

“Running an Army communications system is like having a breach every day,” Stewart said. “You’re constantly moving the systems. You’re constantly trying to figure out where it is, what is working and what is not working, and you’re getting attacked. It might be a physical attack or an electronic attack.”

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