WASHINGTON–The U.S. Office of the Inspector General reported it has begun an audit of the Federal Reserve's effectiveness when it comes to ensuring U.S. banks have robust information security policies, procedures and practices in place, including the ability to quickly detect and respond to data breaches.
The OIG’s "Audit of the Board's Oversight of Cybersecurity Threats to Financial Institutions" was announced earlier this week as part of its work plan.
According to the work plan, "The growing sophistication and volume of cybersecurity threats presents a serious risk to all financial institutions. We are focusing our review on how the Federal Reserve System's examination process has evolved and whether it is providing adequate oversight of financial institutions' information security controls and cybersecurity threats."
The Federal Reserve has already developed guidance for banks "to define expectations for information security and data breach management," the OIG reported. Now the watchdog agency will review how - and if - banks are complying with that guidance.