Madison, South Dakota, October 27 /PRNewswire/ — SBS CyberSecurity reported that nearly half of the financial institution attendees at its inaugural Converge Cyber + AI Conference who participated in a live survey indicated that their boards or executive teams include no one with cybersecurity or technical expertise. Live polling of attendees from banks, credit unions, and other regulated institutions showed that 45% reported this gap, with an additional 8% unsure.
This outcome comes at a time when AI is transforming the threat landscape that boards and executive teams must oversee. “Cybersecurity and AI risks will ultimately land on the board’s agenda,” said Jon Waldman, President of SBS CyberSecurity. “Having someone on the table who understands technology makes it easier to ask the right questions.”
At a two-day conference in Omaha, Nebraska, held on October 6–7, nearly 200 attendees heard from multiple speakers, including a nationally recognized security awareness expert, a former head of the FDIC’s cyber fraud unit, as well as educators, bankers, and SBS practitioners. Attendees learned that AI can now draft phishing emails, clone executive voices, and fully execute scam calls. However, it still requires a person who acts before thinking to succeed. The conference repeatedly highlighted five key themes:
- You cannot fix human nature.
Erich Kron, Chief Information Security Officer Advisor at KnowBe4, said, “You can’t patch human nature, but you can train people to recognize when they’re being manipulated.” Brian Brushwood, host of the social engineering series Scam Nation and closing keynote speaker, added that this recognition comes from practice: “Intuition relies on experience, not assumptions.”
- Participating in training does not equate to having awareness.
Waldman said, “Training measures engagement; testing measures behavior.” He urged leaders not to focus solely on completion rates, but to reward the behaviors they want to see, such as reporting phishing emails. Although 63% of surveyed attendees said they incorporate accountability mechanisms into their training and testing, only 44% reported that their organizations currently reward employees for reporting phishing emails or other social engineering scams.
- AI has entered your organization.
Suppliers are integrating AI features into existing products without updating contracts, and in some cases, without notifying customers at all, leaving many institutions unaware that they now possess AI tools. Employees are also using AI tools, regardless of whether they have been approved.
- Attackers now operate at machine speed.
AI agents can complete reconnaissance in a matter of seconds, while humans require significantly more time; for criminals, the cost of launching deepfake, voice cloning, and business email compromise attacks has dropped to nearly zero.
- The talent pipeline needs to be rethought.
A panel of leaders from Dakota State University, the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, BankTennessee, and SBS discussed how institutions will develop cybersecurity and AI capabilities as entry-level roles evolve. Chad Knutson, CEO of SBS CyberSecurity, said, “As businesses become more efficient, some entry-level positions may become scarcer. Wisdom comes from experience—and experience built upon knowledge.”
SBS stated that Converge’s design philosophy is that financial institutions can no longer treat cybersecurity and AI as two separate topics. In addition to 22 sessions covering governance, technology, and AI, participants tested their skills in a hands-on Cyber Challenge, where all challenges on the board were solved by 24 competitors.
Preparations for Converge 2027 have begun. For more information and updates, visit converge.sbscyber.com.
About SBS CyberSecurity
Cybersecurity is not a one-time decision but an ongoing business priority, with risks continuing to rise. SBS CyberSecurity empowers leaders to tackle this challenge with confidence. Founded in 2004, the company has long been a trusted advisor and hands-on partner to thousands of organizations. Through expert services, AI governance, and its proprietary GRC platform TRAC, SBS delivers not just answers—but understanding and protection. Learn more at sbscyber.com.