Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman has urged banks to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity as artificial intelligence increases the speed and sophistication of cyber threats. Speaking at the 2026 Community Bank Cyber Workshop, Bowman highlighted the need for financial institutions to strengthen cyber resilience and adapt risk-management practices as malicious actors increasingly use AI-enabled tools.
Bowman stressed that basic cyber controls remain essential, including asset management, multifactor authentication and timely vulnerability patching. At the same time, AI is creating a dual challenge for banks: it can strengthen defensive capabilities, but can also help attackers automate and scale activities such as phishing, fraud and other cyberattacks. This makes continuous monitoring and adaptation increasingly important rather than relying on periodic security assessments.
For banks, particularly community institutions, the message reinforces the need to treat cybersecurity as an ongoing operational and enterprise risk. AI-enabled attacks can interact with existing vulnerabilities, third-party exposures and legacy technology, making a layered approach involving prevention, detection, response and recovery increasingly important. American Banker has similarly highlighted the growing need for proactive risk management as financial services become more interconnected and instantaneous.
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