BANKERSONLINE PRESENTS
THE 32ND ANNUAL

BANK SECURITY CONFERENCE

LIVESTREAMING VIRTUAL EVENT | OCTOBER 20 – 22, 2026

This year’s conference has been approved for 18 CERP, 11 CRCM, and 10 CAFP continuing education credits.

The 32nd Annual Bank Security Conference

As threats to financial institutions continue to evolve, both physically and digitally, meeting your annual security training requirements is more critical than ever.

To help your team stay ahead, we’re bringing back the Bank Security Conference for its 32nd annual meeting!
Our team is hard at work bringing together a top-tier lineup of experts and an agenda purpose-built to help you navigate security challenges from every angle.

This year’s program promises to be our most comprehensive yet, featuring:

Fresh insights from new expert presenters
A panel discussion with seasoned bank security and risk professionals
Interactive live Q&A sessions with direct access to session leaders
Actionable content covering physical security, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, and risk management strategies

Whether you’re just starting in bank security or have years of experience, this conference was designed to strengthen your institution’s defenses and ensure compliance with your annual training requirements.

Information Packed Sessions | Nationally Recognized Speakers | Zero Travel Required

*Paid registrations include on-demand access to conference content for 90-days following the event.

TOP REASONS TO ATTEND

ENHANCED RISK MANAGEMENT

Gain insights into comprehensive risk assessment practices tailored for small financial institutions.
Learn strategies to identify and mitigate internal and external threats effectively.
Understand emerging fraud schemes and tactics, including AI-driven fraud and phishing attacks.
Explore real-world case studies and practical approaches to fraud prevention and detection.

Cutting Edge Insights

Stay updated on the latest trends in identity theft and effective customer education strategies.
Discover innovative scam education tactics proven to engage and educate community members.
Learn to recognize and respond to Sovereign Citizen challenges effectively.

Resilience & Preparedness

Prepare your institution to handle encounters with First Amendment Auditors professionally and legally.
Gain essential knowledge on post-violence aftermath preparedness and recovery strategies.
Enhance board reporting practices to communicate security program effectiveness clearly and confidently.

This year’s conference has been approved for 18 CERP, 11 CRCM, and 10 CAFP continuing education credits.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP OCTOBER 20, 2026

Foundations of Security: Bridging Risk, Regulation and Readiness
10:00 - 10:50 am ET | Lara Miller & Clay Carter

Every financial institution faces an evolving range of security risks, from robberies and workplace violence to physical intrusions and other emergencies. Successfully managing those risks begins with developing a security program based on the requirements of the Bank Protection Act. A proactive security officer builds on that foundation by fostering a culture of preparedness throughout the institution to help protect people, facilities and operations.

This session explores the critical role of the security officer in identifying risks, strengthening security practices, and enhancing organizational resilience. We’ll discuss tips for implementing required security measures, training employees, documenting incidents, and reporting to the Board of Directors. You will receive actionable guidance connecting regulatory requirements to real-world security operations, from branch opening and closing procedures and physical security assessments to robbery response and emergency preparedness. This session will equip participants with the practical knowledge and tools necessary to build greater readiness for whatever comes next.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Recognize physical security threats, operational vulnerabilities, and emerging challenges that financial institutions must be prepared to address,

• Translate regulation into action by connecting the requirements of the Bank Protection Act to a comprehensive security program that supports compliance, accountability, and sound governance, and

• Strengthen organizational readiness by incorporating practical strategies for branch security, incident response, documentation, emergency preparedness, and continuous program improvement.

New Threats and Familiar Tactics in Internal Fraud
11:00 - 11:50 am ET | Barry Thompson

While cyberattacks and external fraud dominate the headlines, internal fraud can cost financial institutions millions of dollars each year and often goes undetected until the losses are significant. Sometimes it’s the trusted insider with authorized access or the employee who is frustrated, tempted, or otherwise compromised that poses the most danger. Or it could be an executive in a leadership position, someone you would least expect, and perhaps the least able to challenge. The one thing they all have in common is that someone is exploiting your trust.

This session explores the behavioral warning signs, operational red flags, and concealment techniques commonly associated with internal fraud. Learn how dishonest employees hide their activities and spend stolen funds without raising immediate suspicion. You’ll be better prepared to recognize when unusual behavior warrants a closer look, how to conduct an effective internal review, and why it may be time to bring in a certified fraud investigator (CFI). Early detection may be your strongest defense against insider fraud.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Distinguish between traditional fraud schemes and the new types of insider threats, from embezzlement to malicious and planted insiders,

• Spot the behavioral and operational warning signs that signal insider fraud before it escalates, and

• Respond with practical strategies for evaluating suspicious activity, conducting an internal review, and determining when outside investigative expertise is needed.

The Extended Enterprise: Managing Third and Fourth-Party Relationships
12:00 - 12:50 pm ET | Michael Berman

No financial institution operates in isolation. Every institution relies on third parties to some degree to deliver products, services, technology, and critical business functions. And those vendors depend upon their own network of subcontractors, cloud providers, data processes and other service providers, extending risks and responsibilities well beyond the companies with which you have a direct contract. As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, managing institutional risk across this extended ecosystem has become an essential component of a comprehensive third-party risk management (TPRM) framework.

This session breaks down what effective 3rd , 4th , and nth – party vendor risk management looks like in practice and explores how to extend oversight across your vendor ecosystem without creating unnecessary complexity. Discover proven techniques to simplify downstream oversight, separating critical risk from background noise, and deploying governance that is both scalable and risk based. Walk away with ideas you can immediately apply to enhance visibility and oversight.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Evaluate 3rd , 4th , and nth – party risks across today’s interconnected vendor ecosystem,

• Focus attention where it matters most, on relationships that present the greatest operational, cybersecurity and compliance risk, and

• Develop documentation standards, contractual safeguards and monitoring controls that improve visibility into critical downstream dependencies.

Lunch Break | 12:50 - 2:00 pm ET

Enjoy your break! The conference resumes at 2:00 pm ET.

Keys to Building Awareness, Readiness and Vigilance
2:00 - 2:50 pm ET | Pete Van De Voorde

Today’s increasingly dynamic threat landscape demands broader, more sophisticated skillsets than ever before. As threat actors rapidly adopt emerging technologies, security professionals must keep pace with an unprecedented rate of change and a level of unpredictability unlike anything we’ve seen before. How do you succeed in this environment?

Join us for a conversation with a security and technology strategist whose career spans the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of Homeland Security, national security missions, corporate security, and partnerships with law enforcement. Together, we’ll explore a new way of thinking about navigating through tomorrow’s challenges.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Strengthen cross-domain situational awareness by connecting signals across physical security, cyber threats, fraud, legal, and reputational risk to anticipate emerging threats,
Build operational readiness through rehearsal, training, and coordinated response rather than policy alone, and
Cultivate a decision-making mindset that combines investigative skepticism with disciplined risk management to make sound, defensible decisions.

The Investigative Advantage: The Power of Shared Intelligence
3:00 - 3:50 pm ET | Brian Crow, CAMS

What if your security team is only seeing half the story, and the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) department has the other half? A suspicious visitor, a few unusual transactions, or a pattern of concerning behavior may seem unrelated until the dots are connected. When a financial institution adopts an operational mindset around intelligence data, isolated observations become actionable information that can better detect threats, strengthen investigations and protect customers and the institution.

This session explores how security, fraud and BSA/AML teams can optimize capabilities when working as intelligence partners instead of operating in separate lanes. We’ll explore how information sharing, evidence preservation, and coordinated investigations produce better outcomes than either function could achieve alone. After all, criminals don’t operate in silos – why should we?

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Cultivate an intelligence-sharing culture where individual observations contribute to a more complete understanding of threats,

• Coordinate investigative efforts to maximize the value of information across security, fraud, and BSA/AML functions, and

• Leverage shared intelligence to improve threat detection, reduce losses, and strengthen investigative outcomes for the financial institution.

Preparing Your Security Program for Audit and Examination
4:00 - 4:50 pm ET | Ashlyn Jones

Preparing for an audit or examination shouldn’t begin when the notification arrives. The strongest security programs are built with governance, accountability, and a strong security culture at their core, making audit and exam readiness part of everyday operations rather than a last-minute effort.

Join us as we share ideas for strengthening the foundational elements of an audit-ready security program, including documentation, data integrity, controls, and meaningful reporting. Discover how these foundational elements work together to support informed decision-making, demonstrate program effectiveness, and build confidence with leadership and other key stakeholders.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Identify the key governance, documentation, and control practices that support an audit-ready security program,
Recognize how reliable data, meaningful metrics, and effective reporting help tell the story of a security program’s performance, and
Evaluate opportunities to strengthen security programs through assessment, documentation, and continuous improvement.

Live Question & Answer Session | 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET

We close out the day with an exciting live q&a session with all of the pre-conference workshop day speakers.

CONFERENCE DAY ONE
OCTOBER 21, 2026

BOL's Annual Security Briefing - Threats, Trends and Tomorrow's Challenges
10:00 - 10:50 am ET | Barbara Boccia, CRCM JD MBA

Financial institutions face an increasingly complex threat landscape that is evolving at an unprecedented pace. It extends far beyond the branch, shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, transnational organized criminal enterprises, artificial intelligence, and other technology-driven capabilities. These converging forces are changing the security equation for financial institutions and influencing the future of enterprise security.

Let’s look beyond the headlines to define the trends redefining risk, the innovations transforming both attack and defense, and the mission-critical priorities that will help security leaders anticipate change, strengthen resilience, and advance their security posture. We’ll explore how a multidisciplinary, enterprise-wide framework can help organizations adapt and prepare for what’s next.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Assess the transformational trends and threat drivers influencing the future of enterprise security,

• Evaluate the impact of emerging attack vectors, AI-enabled technologies, and evolving criminal tactics on institutional resilience, and

• Advance your risk posture by aligning mission-critical priorities with a multidisciplinary, enterprise-wide strategy.

Security by Design: CPTED Principles for Today's Banking Environment
11:00 - 11:50 am ET | Joell McNew, CPD CPTED

The most effective security measures often go unnoticed. Modern branch security tactics include incorporating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, a proactive security framework that uses the physical environment, operational practices, and behavioral cues to reduce opportunities for crime before they occur.

This session explores how natural surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement, and maintenance can be used to transform everyday environments and reduce opportunities for crime. We’ll explain how changes in design and behavior can strengthen the safety and overall branch experience for customers and employees.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Apply CPTED principles to identify opportunities for strengthening your institution’s physical security strategy,
Recognize how design, operations and human behavior work together to deter crime and support a secure, welcoming customer experience, and
Integrate CPTED principles into branch planning, facility improvements, and ongoing security initiatives.

Front-Line Under Pressure: Managing Aggressive Customers and First Amendment Auditors
12:00 - 12:50 pm ET | Carol Dodgen

A quiet, routine workday can quickly change when an angry customer, disruptive visitor or a so-called “First Amendment Auditor” shows up at your branch. Are your frontline employees prepared to deal with sudden conflicts, threats, or perceived acts of aggression? Do they know how to look for the cues and indicators that provide opportunities to intervene before a situation becomes a crisis, and what to do before an interaction goes sideways as the cameras are rolling?

Your frontline employees may only have a few seconds to shape the outcome of a difficult encounter. This session examines how you can equip your staff with the information and tools needed to respond appropriately while protecting employees, customers, and the institution. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, attendees will gain a better understanding of how proven de-escalation techniques can be used when interacting with disgruntled, frustrated, or potentially threatening individuals.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Help frontline staff understand their role in conflict management and recognize early warning signs of escalating behavior,
Develop training, tools, and procedures that guide frontline employees in communicating and responding appropriately in high-pressure situations, and
Foster a culture of preparedness that equips your financial institution to manage conflict, mitigate risk, and protect everyone involved.

Lunch Break | 12:50 - 2:00 pm ET

Enjoy your break! The conference resumes at 2:00 pm ET.

Economic Warfare and the Future of Financial Security
2:00 - 2:50 pm ET | Christopher Hersey, CFE

Economic warfare has become a defining feature of modern conflict. The financial system now sits at the center of that conflict, where nation states, foreign adversaries, transnational organized crime syndicates, cyber-enabled fraud, and artificial intelligence capabilities increasingly converge. In this interview, an investigator with experience at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, and a former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent will share his insights and offer his perspective on why protecting financial institutions is a mission-critical responsibility for security leaders.

We’ll discuss how cyber-enabled crime, fraud networks and other hostile actors are reshaping financial security as they exploit technology and global communication platforms. We’ll also explore how organizations can build resilience and strengthen preparedness in an era where economic security is national security.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Trace the connections between economic warfare, geopolitical threats, cyber-enabled fraud, and advances in technology and artificial intelligence that are reshaping the financial security landscape,
Examine why the U.S. financial system serves as a strategic center of gravity and a high-value target, and the implications for operational readiness and response capabilities, and
Connect emerging government initiatives, public-private partnerships, and intelligence-sharing efforts to enhance financial sector resilience.

Modern Robbery: New Tactics, New Targets
3:00 - 3:50 pm ET | Jill Czerwinski and Brian Wilder

Modern robbery isn’t confined to the branch lobby anymore. The masked robber passing a cryptic note to the teller and demanding cash is only one piece of a much larger threat landscape. Organized criminal enterprises are orchestrating new ways to steal from financial institutions. Large-scale cash-in-transit and armored carrier heists reflect carefully planned and coordinated attacks, while ATM jackpotting illustrates the convergence of cyber and physical tactics.

ATM jackpotting has evolved into a sophisticated threat that combines cyber intrusion, physical access, malware, and coordinated criminal activity to force ATMs to dispense cash on command. These attacks can unfold quickly, target multiple machines, and expose gaps across technology, physical security, vendor management, monitoring, and incident response.

This session will examine real-world ATM jackpotting incidents to identify common attack methods, warning signs, control failures, and operational lessons. We will walk through the critical actions financial institutions should take before, during, and after an attack, including ATM shutdown and containment, evidence preservation, law enforcement coordination, vendor engagement, employee communications, and recovery.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Recognize common ATM jackpotting techniques, indicators, and attack patterns, and apply lessons from incident reviews to identify vulnerabilities and improve preparedness,
Coordinate an effective response across security, fraud, technology, operations, vendors, and law enforcement while strengthening ATM defenses through practical physical, cyber, and operational controls, and
Apply lessons from incident reviews to identify vulnerabilities, improve preparedness and develop better response and prevention tactics that can be implemented immediately across your institution.

The Anatomy of Workplace Violence
4:00 - 4:50 pm ET | Carol Dodgen

Workplace violence is recognized as a significant threat facing organizations today. Active-shooter incidents are among the most devastating forms of violence in the workplace and often the final stage of a pattern that begins much earlier. Breaking down how these dangerous situations develop reveals a progression that often starts with threats, intimidation, harassment, domestic violence, and targeted acts of aggression. Understanding these warning signs is key to recognizing critical opportunities to intervene early, to help protect employees, customers, and the financial institution.

Participants will learn how to identify pre-incident indicators, recognize behavioral warning signs, and understand the pathway that often leads to violent acts. Through real-world case studies, we will examine incidents where warning signs were missed, policies were ineffective, and opportunities for intervention were overlooked. This session also explores response strategies for active-shooter and active-assailant incidents, equipping attendees with the knowledge and confidence to make crucial decisions under stress when seconds matter.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Examine the progression of workplace violence to better understand how behaviors escalate and where interventions can alter the outcome,

• Evaluate warning signs and real-world incidents to identify opportunities to strengthen organizational readiness and improve response during worst-case scenarios, and

• Promote a culture of reporting, accountability, and shared responsibility that empowers employees to make a meaningful difference in protecting customers, colleagues, and the financial institution.

Live Question & Answer Session | 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET

We close out the day with an exciting live q&a session with all of the day’s presenters.

CONFERENCE DAY TWO
OCTOBER 22, 2026

Where Security Programs Fail - Lessons from Real-World Breakdowns
10:00 - 10:50 am ET | Rob Groome

Security failures rarely begin with a single missed control. They develop through overlooked risks, unclear responsibilities, inadequate planning, operational misalignment, and governance gaps that leave institutions vulnerable when incidents occur. This session brings those lessons learned together to examine why some security programs succeed, and some don’t.

We’ll explore how organizational culture, executive support, cross-functional collaboration, and security maturity shape an organization’s ability to prevent, detect, contain, and recover from security events. You’ll leave with practical takeaways for establishing meaningful baseline controls, clarifying roles and escalation paths, strengthening documentation and assessment readiness, integrating security awareness throughout the employee life cycle, addressing physical and supply chain risks, and embedding lessons learned to strengthen your organization’s long-term security posture.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Assess whether your security program is built on the foundational elements necessary to withstand today’s evolving threat landscape,

• Identify the warning signs and common breakdowns that allow security incidents to escalate, and

• Build a more resilient security program through intentional incident preparedness, cross functional coordination, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Agentic AI: Friend or Foe?
11:00 - 11:50 am ET | Debra Geister

As financial institutions rush to adopt agentic AI to strengthen security, streamline operations and enhance decision-making, cybercriminals are using this same technology to automate attacks, craft highly convincing scams, and uncover new ways to exploit vulnerabilities. The opportunities are exciting, but the pressure to keep pace with evolving threats has never been greater.

This session explores where agentic AI is headed, how to separate hype from reality, and the essential guardrails every organization should have in place. The challenge isn’t deciding whether to use artificial intelligence (AI), it’s determining which AI capabilities are appropriate, where they belong, what they should be allowed to do, and how to put the right controls in place to manage risk.

Whether your financial institution is just beginning its AI journey or expanding existing initiatives, you’ll leave with fresh ideas for putting AI to work while maintaining the oversight, governance and human judgment needed to keep your institution secure.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Evaluate the dual role of agentic AI as a powerful tool for financial institutions, and an emerging force multiplier for cybercriminals and other threat actors,
Explore practical ways to harness agentic AI while establishing guardrails that define its role, limit access to critical systems, and preserve meaningful human oversight, and
Prepare for informed conversations with executive leadership and the board about AI adoption, governance, risk, and the controls needed to support responsible innovation.

The Fraudacity of Cybercriminals
12:00 - 12:50 pm ET | Amanda Dearing

Today’s fraudsters continue to evolve their tactics at a relentless pace, weaponizing emerging technologies with proven social engineering tactics to outpace traditional defenses. Understanding how these schemes and scams are spreading, and why they succeed, is essential in staying one step ahead.

This session explores the latest tactics used by fraudsters, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and psychological manipulation. From deceptive deepfakes and synthetic identities to old-school check fraud, we will dissect the escalating threats and provide effective strategies to stay informed, protect consumers, and outsmart the scammers.

In this session, you will learn how to:

Recognize the warning signs and emerging trends behind today’s most significant fraud schemes,
Assess how artificial intelligence and social engineering are reshaping the threat landscape to exploit individuals and financial institutions, and
Implement practices that enhance detection, improve organizational resilience, and strengthen defenses against evolving scams.

Lunch Break | 12:50 - 2:00 pm ET

Enjoy your break! The conference resumes at 2:00 pm ET.

Converging Threats: Cybersecurity, Financial Crime and Executive Risk
2:00 - 2:50 pm ET | Debra Geister

Cybersecurity no longer operates in its own lane. Today’s perpetrators move seamlessly between cyberattacks, fraud, financial crime, and physical threats, exploiting the gaps between organizational teams and traditional security disciplines. What begins as a phishing e-mail, credential theft or social engineering campaign can quickly escalate into financial loss, operational disruption, reputational damage, or threats to an employee’s or executive’s safety. Digital breaches increasingly have real-world consequences.
As threats converge, so must the response. This session examines why fragmented approaches create dangerous blind spots and explores how financial institutions can address the full spectrum of interconnected risk.

Learn how unified intelligence, cross-functional collaboration, and coordinated response strategies can strengthen resilience across cybersecurity and other disciplines. You will leave with practical ideas for building a more connected, intelligence-driven security program that is better equipped to anticipate, detect, and respond to today’s evolving threat landscape.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Identify emerging trends driving the convergence of cyber, financial, and physical threats,

• Examine frameworks for building a more adaptive, intelligence-led security program, and

• Take away valuable insights to help identify emerging crossover risks, anticipate what’s next, and communicate those evolving risks across the organization.

Understanding the Economics of Security in Financial Institutions
3:00 - 3:50 pm ET | Brad Stevens, MBA

Effective security begins with aligning your security program with the business it is designed to protect. Before deciding where to invest limited resources, security leaders must understand their financial institution’s strategic priorities, core risk exposures, and the operational realities that drive decision-making. From cash management and deposit operations to fraud, physical security, cyber threats, and internal and external exposures, knowing where risk exists is essential to building a security program that delivers meaningful value.

Once those priorities are understood, the next challenge is determining which security investments provide the greatest return. This session explores the economics of security, including how to evaluate the return on investment using a Return on Security Investment (ROSI) methodology that includes consideration of the financial value of loss prevention. You’ll learn practical approaches for prioritizing security initiatives, demonstrating their impact, and communicating their value in a language that executives and boards will understand. This can help position security as a strategic business investment rather than simply a cost of compliance.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Align security investment decisions with organizational priorities and enterprise risks,

• Identify the areas where security controls can have the greatest impact on reducing operational, fraud, physical and financial risk, and

• Apply a ROSI framework to measure the effectiveness of security spending and communicate its value to the board and the financial institution.

Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity at Your Institution
4:00 - 4:50 pm ET | Lynda Hartup, CISA CISM CBSM

“People” remain one of the most frequently targeted entry points for cyberattacks, making a strong culture of cybersecurity a financial institution’s most effective defense. While security awareness training and clear guidance on proper protocols support regulatory expectations, creating lasting behavioral change requires more.

This session explores ways to build a proactive security awareness program that engages both employees and customers. Learn how to increase awareness, establish clear expectations, reinforce accountability, and foster behaviors that strengthen your institution’s security posture. Together, these elements create a culture that fosters resilient cybersecurity practices and a shared responsibility for protecting your data, your customers, and your organization.

In this session, you will learn how to:
• Uncover opportunities for communicating clear expectations and developing a stronger cybersecurity awareness program,

• Build a culture where secure behaviors become second nature, empowering every employee to play an active role in their day-to-day activities, and

• Take away new ideas to inspire engagement, reinforce accountability, and create lasting habits that strengthen your financial institution’s cyber resilience.

Live Question & Answer Session | 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET

We close out the day with an exciting live q&a session with all of the day’s presenters.