Today, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) released its 2026 Annual Survey of Community Banks at its Community Bank Research Conference at the St. Louis Fed. Once again, cybersecurity concerns remain top-of-mind with bankers.
As noted by the CSBS, “Survey respondents again named cybersecurity and technology implementation and costs as the most important internal risks facing their institutions. Internal risk stemming from cybersecurity has held the top spot since being introduced in 2018.
While most banks plan greater Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, bankers cited “cybersecurity concerns” as the “primary barrier.”
Cybersecurity Risk Remains the Top Concern
Further, the CSBS states, “Cybersecurity was identified as the top internal risk in this year’s survey. Close to 95% of surveyed community bankers cited this risk as either an ‘extremely important’ or a ‘very important’ internal risk. This share was up slightly from last year’s survey and remains well above all other internal and external risks identified in the survey.”
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In the spirit of helping community bankers address their cybersecurity concerns and manage the risk-reward proposition of banking, our firm offers an extensive menu of cybersecurity consulting services with our most recent offering, the FREE FFIEC CAT Replacement, allowing bankers to easily adopt the NIST Cybersecurity Framework at no cost.
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Our Cybersecurity Services
We offer additional services ranging from a quantitative, color-coded Cybersecurity Risk Assessment to Cybersecurity Incident Tabletop Testing, IT Audits, and Cybersecurity Assessments that include penetration testing, social engineering, and vulnerability scanning.
Let Us Help
If your bank wants informed, experienced, independent and objective advice on cybersecurity matters, let’s talk. Our deep knowledge of banking combined with our reputation and long track record of helping community banks address cybersecurity concerns in a professional and thorough manner makes our firm the number one choice for community bankers nationwide.
Contact Business Development Manager Ben Sawyers at bsawyers@sawyersjacobs.com or 901.860.1594 to request a proposal or schedule a free consultation.