2026 Financial Crimes and Cybersecurity Conference Agenda

In-Person Event – Pre-registration Required: Imposter Websites & Brand Protection: Tabletop Exercise

Put your firm's brand protection and incident response capabilities to the test in this immersive tabletop exercise. Participants navigate a realistic scenario involving fake advisor websites, fraudulent social media profiles, phishing campaigns and AI-generated deepfakes. Cross-functional teams work through detection, investigation, takedown coordination, customer communication, regulatory notification and law enforcement engagement. Facilitators deliver real-time scenario injects and conduct structured debriefs to identify response gaps and strengthen your firm's brand protection program.

Break

In-Person Event – Pre-registration Required: Elder Cyber Fraud Case Study Workshop

Cyber fraud schemes targeting elder investors are growing more frequent and sophisticated. Join this interactive workshop to gain essential tools to recognize, prevent and counter these increasingly sophisticated cyber fraud schemes. Through practical case studies and collaborative discussions with industry peers, you develop actionable strategies to protect vulnerable investors from today’s most prevalent threats.

Registration

Plenary Session: Opening Keynote – The Threat Landscape Redefined: What's Changing and Why It Matters

Break

Concurrent Sessions:

Staying Ahead of the Adversaries: Part I (panel)

Explore the latest fraud trends targeting member firms and their customers. FINRA staff and industry experts discuss emerging threat vectors, criminal methodologies, and attack strategies reshaping the financial services landscape. Gain visibility into the sophisticated schemes your firm may encounter and understand the adversary's evolving tactics. (Part 1 of 2 — see Part II on Tuesday)

AML Investigations Decoded: Case Studies From the Field (workshop)

Learn to recognize emerging AML typologies and escalation triggers through real examination scenarios. This interactive workshop analyzes anonymized cases from FINRA examinations, guiding participants through emerging typology recognition, escalation decision-making, and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) quality expectations. Gain practical insights into what regulators observe in the field and strengthen your firm's AML investigation and reporting capabilities.

Networking break

Concurrent Sessions:

Inside the Mind of a Cybercriminal: Tactics, Trends and Techniques (panel)

Step into the world of a cybercriminal as our panel explores the sophisticated methods used to target financial institutions and investors in today’s digital landscape. This session examines the most pressing threats facing the industry—from AI-powered deepfakes and synthetic identity fraud to business email compromise attacks and cryptocurrency exploitation. Through analysis of real-world financial cybercrime operations, panelists reveal attacker psychology, targeting strategies and decision-making patterns that create detection opportunities. Walk away with actionable insights to strengthen your firm's defenses against these evolving threats.

Emerging AML Typologies – What We Are Seeing in 2026 (panel)

Money laundering schemes continue to evolve in sophistication and scope. FINRA staff share emerging typologies detected through examinations and enforcement actions, including digital asset risks, nested account structures, and evolving red flags. Discover what is driving new laundering methodologies and gain actionable insights to enhance your firm's surveillance and detection capabilities.

Break

Concurrent Sessions:

The Crypto Factor: Why Every Firm Should Be Alert (panel)

Cryptocurrency has fundamentally altered how criminals launder money, execute fraud and launch cyberattacks—tactics now spreading to traditional finance. In this session, panelists unpack high-profile breaches that demonstrate how crypto-based criminal methodologies threaten all financial operations. Walk away with practical compliance strategies that strengthen your defenses, regardless of your firm’s direct involvement in digital assets.

Identity Theft Prevention, Detection and Response (panel)

This session explores the evolving landscape of identity theft threats—such as new account fraud and account takeovers—facing the securities industry and the comprehensive strategies firms can employ to protect customers and maintain market integrity. Hear insights from FINRA staff, industry practitioners and law enforcement on the latest fraud schemes, effective controls and regulatory obligations.

Networking Reception

Breakfast

Plenary Session - Intelligence Sharing: Strengthening Collective Defense Through Collaboration

This session explores how effective intelligence sharing among member firms, regulators and law enforcement creates a force multiplier in combating cybercrime and fraud. Hear from FINRA staff, industry practitioners and law enforcement partners as they discuss the critical role information sharing plays in identifying emerging threats, disrupting criminal networks and protecting the securities industry.

Break

Concurrent Sessions:

Staying Ahead of the Adversaries – Part II (panel)

Continuing Monday's Part I threat overview, this session translates intelligence into action. Panelists share proven mitigation strategies, operational controls and supervisory practices specifically designed to counter the emerging fraud schemes discussed in Part I. Leave with practical approaches your firm can implement to protect customers and strengthen defenses against today's most prevalent threats. 

Crypto Investigations: Analysis, Documentation & SAR Reporting (workshop)

Cryptocurrency's role in fraud and money laundering creates unique investigative challenges. This session provides practical guidance on incorporating crypto analysis into investigations and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings. Participants learn to trace transactions, identify digital asset red flags, document suspicious activity and gather blockchain evidence. Experts share practical tools, free resources and common pitfalls to avoid. Leave with actionable workflows and templates for crypto-related investigations, regardless of your firm's direct involvement in digital assets.

Networking break

Concurrent Sessions:

CISO Roundtable: The Future of Cyber Resilience (panel)

Hear from a panel of Chief Information Security Officers as they share forward-looking strategies for building cyber resilience. This roundtable explores how security leaders are anticipating systemic risks across cloud environments, Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, and critical vendor ecosystems while providing actionable effective practices and immediate steps firms can take to begin transforming their security posture for tomorrow's threat landscape.

Protecting Senior Investors: Regulatory Expectations and Emerging Financial Crimes Risks (panel)

Elder financial exploitation continues to evolve in scope and sophistication, often intersecting with fraud, cognitive decline and trusted contact abuse. This session explores current regulatory expectations for broker dealers, common red flags observed in examinations and enforcement actions and practical steps firms can take to enhance supervision, documentation and escalation practices to better protect senior investors.

Trending Topics Networking and General Lunch Dessert With Exhibitors

Concurrent Sessions:

FINRA's Intelligence Ecosystem: Technology, Products & Engagement (panel)

Discover how FINRA's intelligence infrastructure protects the industry through coordinated information sharing and actionable threat intelligence. Learn about key collaborative mechanisms including the Financial Intelligence Fusion Center (FIFC) and Cyber & Operational Resilience (CORE), plus intelligence products like Threat Intelligence Products (TIPs) and Cyber Event Impact Assessments (CEIAs). Hear from industry practitioners on practical strategies for consuming and operationalizing these resources.

Autopsy of a Breach: Actual Cases, Real Consequences, Essential Lessons (workshop)

Gain insights as industry experts, regulators and law enforcement analyze high-profile cyber fraud cases involving insider threats, cloud security failures and ransomware-as-a-service operations. The discussion reveals how sophisticated threat actors operate and shares proven defensive strategies from firms that have successfully defended against these increasingly common attacks.

Networking Break

Concurrent Sessions:

The Scale of Modern Fraud: Technology as a Force Multiplier (panel)

Technological advances have transformed fraud from individual scams into industrial-scale criminal operations. This panel examines how criminals leverage automation, AI-generated content, social media and digital payment systems to victimize thousands simultaneously. Panelists explore how generative AI and emerging technologies amplify fraud sophistication and reach, alongside real-world case studies—including romance investment scams, coordinated impersonation attacks and AI-enabled social engineering chains. Experts reveal detection strategies, intelligence sharing approaches and defensive technologies to counter scalable threats. Combatting Imposter Scams (workshop) Join FINRA staff and industry practitioners for an interactive workshop designed to help firms develop comprehensive programs to combat the growing threat of imposter scams. This session provides practical guidance on identifying fraudulent impersonations, executing effective takedown strategies and managing the reputational and customer relationship challenges these scams create.

Break

Plenary Session – Closing Keynote: Building a Resilient Financial Crime Program (panel)

Bring together insights from across the conference and examine effective practices to combat an emerging and evolving threat landscape. Hear key themes from the conference sessions—from emerging fraud typologies and AML investigations to intelligence sharing and defensive technologies—and learn how to integrate these strategies into a comprehensive, resilient financial crime program. Leave with a roadmap for strengthening your organization's ability to anticipate threats, respond effectively and protect customers and market integrity.

Conference Adjourns