How to Pass the FFIEC Assessment

The article outlines the elevated cyber risk faced by financial institutions—highlighting notable breaches and ransomware activity—then describes the FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT) and a five-step process for assessing and improving cybersecurity maturity across five domains (risk management, threat intelligence, controls, third-party management, and incident resilience). It emphasizes continuous reassessment, governance involvement, gap analysis, and practical steps institutions can take to align maturity levels with inherent risk.