Cybersecurity in the Banking World: A Conversation with Michael Samson

The Early Days of Information Security

In few sectors will the subject of cybersecurity receive as much attention as in the banking world. It is almost impossible to imagine in this day and age of online banking, but that was once very different.
In the latest episode of the podcast series My Precious Data, Eddy Willems, Security Evangelist at G DATA CyberDefense, talks to Michael Samson, who was Information Security Advisor at the Dutch Banking Association (NVB) for twelve years. In the conversation, he talks about his early days at NVB, when information security was actually still in its infancy.
Samson has now been retired for almost five years, but from 2002 to 2014 he worked at the NVB as an IT and information security adviser, after which he made the switch to the Dutch Payments Association in 2014 as Risk Management Policy Adviser.

Cooperation and Openness

In the episode, Samson says that at the beginning of this century he was the only one within the NVB who was involved in information security. But because all member banks faced the same challenges and threats, a system was soon set up to make it easier to share information about vulnerabilities with each other.
Openness (to a certain extent) was the keyword here, as Samson’s story shows. The intention was to learn from each other. A gradation was also applied based on the Traffic Light Protocol in whether and how information about (possible) vulnerabilities could be shared. At TLP:RED, for example, information may not be shared in writing or via email, but only orally.

The First Major DDoS Attack

The first large-scale DDoS attack on Dutch banks is also discussed, an entirely new experience for all those involved that ultimately resulted in further professionalization of information security within the Dutch banking sector.
From the conversation between Eddy Willems and Michael Samson once again demonstrates how cybersecurity benefits from openness and consultation. And that need not be limited to national borders, there is also a lot to learn from each other internationally.
Listen to the latest episode of My Precious Data and discover how Eddy got his title Security Evangelist. You can find the podcast in the following places:

The Benefits of Openness and Consultation

Cybersecurity is a major concern in the banking world, and the conversation between Eddy Willems and Michael Samson highlights the importance of openness and consultation in the industry.
Samson was the only one within the NVB who was involved in information security when he began his tenure, but the system was soon set up to make it easier to share information about vulnerabilities with each other. A gradation was also applied based on the Traffic Light Protocol in whether and how information about (possible) vulnerabilities could be shared.
The first large-scale DDoS attack on Dutch banks was a new experience for all those involved, but it ultimately resulted in further professionalization of information security within the Dutch banking sector.
The conversation between Eddy Willems and Michael Samson once again demonstrates how cybersecurity benefits from openness and consultation. And that need not be limited to national borders, there is also a lot to learn from each other internationally.

Listen to the Latest Episode of My Precious Data

Listen to the latest episode of My Precious Data and discover how Eddy got his title Security Evangelist. You can find the podcast in the following places:
Direct link to the episode with Michael Samson:
This is a submission from G DATA CyberDefense AG. Via this link you will find more information about the security services and solutions of the company.