Trends in cybercriminal attacks, and how credit unions should respond to them, were another hot-button issue focus at CU Times' virtual cybersecurity conference, Defending Your Credit Union Against Data Breaches.

Natasha Chilingerian, managing editor at CU Times, served as moderator for the panel discussion that included Alex Ricardo, privacy-breach response manager at Beazley; and Chad Carrington, vice president, IT, cybersecurity, and facilities at the $10.1 billion Sacramento, Calif.-based The Golden 1 Credit Union.

Ricardo cautioned, "A data breach is not always a disaster. Mishandling it is." He explained that much like other organizations that own the personally identifiable information on employees as well as members, most of the threat or liability extends not from lawsuits or regulatory investigations, but rather the lack of experience in properly assessing, investigating, and responding to the privacy/data breach incident at hand.