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(April 30, 2020) – The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) on behalf of its members today issued a statement to address the use of cloud computing services and security risk management principles in the financial services sector.

Security breaches involving cloud computing services highlight the importance of sound security controls and management’s understanding of the shared responsibilities between cloud service providers and their financial institution clients.  The statement does not contain new regulatory expectations, though it highlights that management should not assume that effective security and resilience controls exist simply because the technology systems are operating in a cloud computing environment.

The statement highlights examples of risk management practices for a financial institution’s safe and sound use of cloud computing services and safeguards to protect customers’ sensitive information from risks that pose potential consumer harm.  The statement also provides a list of government and industry resources and references to assist financial institutions using cloud computing services.

Additional information on general risk management and outsourcing practices is available in the FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook’s “Outsourcing Technology Services” booklet and other documents published by FFIEC members.