Press
CUNA participates in White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection
Washington, D.C. (February 14, 2015) – Joan Opp, President and CEO of Stanford Federal Credit Union, represented the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) today at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection in California. The President convened leaders from around the country who have a stake in bolstering cybersecurity, including credit unions.
“Secretary of Commerce Pritzker said she was surprised that anything less than 100% of CEOs are extremely concerned about cybersecurity,” said Opp. “It showed the real need for Congress to pass data security measures.”
“Protecting credit unions and their members from data breaches is one of CUNA’s top priorities,” said Jim Nussle, President and CEO of CUNA. “I’m proud Joan attended on CUNA’s behalf to represent credit union interests. We welcome the attention of the White House on the issue of cybersecurity and will continue to work with Congress for cybersecurity legislation that includes a national standard for data security and protection, consumer notification standards and ensures the party responsible for the data breach bears the cost.”
CUNA has been on the front line of data security for credit unions and their members. CUNA testified at a Senate Banking Committee hearing this week on the need for legislation that ensures all participants in the payments system follow the same security standards; welcomed the President’s engagement on new privacy protections and sent a letter to the President requesting that the administration establish a Cybersecurity Council; sent letters to merchant trade groups on cybersecurity and payments, and called on merchant groups to work with financial institutions to implement solutions.
CUNA also provided the quantitative analysis of the costs to credit unions on the data breaches at Target and Home Depot; canvassed Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to force merchants to meet strict data security standards; launched a website www.stopthedatabreaches.com that advises consumers on how to avoid being hacked and allows them to take action and urge Congress to step in to hold merchants accountable for data violations; and has collaborated with other financial trade associations to ensure a solidified message from financial institutions on any data breach legislation.