Weekly News Roundup: October 4, 2013

Some news highlights from around the world this week including a review of the 2013 PCI Community Meeting, how the US government shutdown may impact security, and why UK banks are being warned about cyber attacks:

Search Security – At 2013 PCI annual meeting, hot topics include POS security, EMV chips – A quick Q&A with Bob Russo and Troy Leach from the PCI SSC regarding the North American Community Meeting last week and the impending release of v3.0 of the standards in November. Some key themes: v3.0 was put together with a more consultative approach with PCI Participating Organizations; merchants need to work on doing the basics right; and that EMV is going to be a major change in the PCI landscape here in the US.

Computerworld – Shutdown could test IT security at federal agencies – A US government shutdown that lasts more than a few days could test the ability of federal agencies to protect their information systems against security threats. Several agencies, over the past few days, have released contingency plans showing that they will have to heavily scale down their IT teams to maintain, manage and protect IT infrastructure during a shutdown.

Bobs Guide – UK banks ‘must prepare for cyber attacks’ – Financial institutions in the UK have been told by the Bank of England to put plans in place to deal with the threat of cyber attacks. Last month, the Bank of England Financial Policy Committee stated the financial system has numerous potential vulnerabilities, which reflects its high degree of interconnectedness as well as its reliance on centralized market infrastructure and its complex legacy IT systems. The Treasury is currently developing general guidance on best practice for banks in order to improve banks’ resilience to cyber attacks.