CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — While problems are brewing overseas because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, people in the United States brace for possible trouble, as well.
U.S. Treasury officials have met with leaders of national banks to warn of Russian cyberattacks.
Alvin Mills, vice president of I.T. and security for the Texas Bankers Association said cyberattacks and ransomware hacks are likely to increase.
"I would think they go after the national banks first," he said. "But I don’t think anybody’s going to be left alone, so to speak."
President and CEO of 1st Community Bank Wes Hoskins said there’s no need for individuals to panic. He said the bank industry has been aware of the threats for weeks and have taken steps to bolster security.
“Deposits are insured up to $250,000," said Hoskins. "You can go to fdic.gov and there’s a way to structure it so that you have increased insurance beyond the 250. But the banking system is safe and it’s insured and it's not insured in your mattress. So, I would encourage people to keep their money in the bank instead of pulling it out.”
We already see scam attempts regularly in our emails, but Mills suggests keeping a closer eye out.
“Probably a good time to change your bank password just to be safe," Mills said. "I would suspect - and what we’ve seen in the past - is most of the attacks are going to come in the form of a phishing attack. So, be aware of suspicious emails.”
“There is a lot of cyber crime out there, we have seen it," said Hoskins. "We’ve had a lot of our customers who had clicked on the wrong link and have ended up with some problems. And so, I would caution everyone these days to make sure you know what you’re doing when you click on a link, or when you’re downloading software or anything of that nature.”
Mills and Hoskins encourage you to be cautious opening anything you’re unsure of and use two-factor authentication for your banking.
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