How to ace the ACET

The NCUA’s new cybersecurity assessment tool is a handful, but there’s help at hand.

The NCUA is now using its own version of the cybersecurity exam required of all financial institutions, and the homework for credit unions ahead of examiner visits can be a doozy.

Called the Automated Cybersecurity Examination Tool, the ACET requires credit unions to answer 494 questions — in the form of declarative statements — and submit approximately 200 documents for examiners to assess how the institution is preventing and preparing for cyber threats and attacks.

The ACET is based on the Cybersecurity Assessment Toolfrom the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. According to the NCUA, the new exam tool provides a “repeatable, measurable, and transparent process that improves and standardizes our supervision related to cybersecurity in all federally insured credit unions.

 

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