2026 Financial Crimes and Cybersecurity Conference Participants Agenda

Registration

In-Person Event – Pre-registration Required: Account Takeovers (ATOs) and Customer Protection: Tabletop Exercise – West Ballroom

Put your firm's fraud detection, customer protection and incident response capabilities to the test in this immersive tabletop exercise. Participants navigate a realistic account takeover scenario involving credential compromise, social engineering, MFA bypass, suspicious account activity and fraudulent transaction attempts. Cross-functional teams work through detection, escalation, account containment, 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 account takeover prevention and response program.

Break

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

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.

Welcome Remarks and Opening Fireside Chat: Securities Enforcement in a Digital Age* (panel) – Gallery Ballroom

Explore how digital transformation is reshaping securities enforcement and regulatory oversight in today's rapidly evolving threat landscape. This fireside chat with leaders from the SEC and FBI examines the sophisticated challenges facing enforcement agencies as they combat cryptocurrency schemes, AI-enabled fraud and technology-driven financial crimes. Gain insights into interagency collaboration strategies, emerging enforcement priorities and how regulators are adapting their approaches to protect investors and maintain market integrity in an increasingly complex digital environment.

Break

Concurrent Sessions

Staying Ahead of the Adversaries: Part I* (panel) – Gallery Ballroom

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, Aug. 11)

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

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)  – Gallery Ballroom

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)  – West Ballroom

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) – Gallery Ballroom

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) – Gallery Ballroom

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 on the latest fraud schemes, effective controls and regulatory obligations.

Networking Reception

Breakfast

Plenary Session - The Evolving and Integrated Nature of the Threat: Cyber, Crypto and Financial Crime (panel) – Gallery Ballroom

This session explores the interplay of the sophisticated cyber, crypto, and financial crime threats which member firms are facing every day.  While distinct, they do not operate in isolation.  Hear from industry experts from each of these areas about the nature of the threat, how they see the threat evolving in the future, and the importance of collective defense.

Break

Concurrent Sessions:

Staying Ahead of the Adversaries; Part II* (panel) – Gallery Ballroom

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. 

Demystifying Crypto Investigations: A Practical Introduction to Blockchain Analysis (workshop)  – West Ballroom

This introductory workshop provides compliance, AML, and financial crimes professionals with practical techniques for analyzing publicly observable blockchain activity. Participants will learn how to navigate blockchain explorers, interpret on-chain transaction activity, and recognize common red flags associated with high-risk wallet activity and blockchain services. Through guided demonstrations and real-world scenarios, attendees will gain an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of on-chain analysis and how it can support AML investigations and supervisory oversight. This session introduces concepts featured in FINRA's Crypto and Blockchain Education Program.

Networking break

Concurrent Sessions:

CISO Roundtable: The Future of Cyber Resilience* (panel)  – Gallery Ballroom

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.

Fraud Doesn't Retire: Combating Financial Crime Against Senior Investors (panel) – West Ballroom 

Senior investor protection is a core financial crime and cybersecurity challenge. This panel brings together experts from FINRA's Office of Investor Education, AARP's Fraud Watch Network and the member firm community to examine the evolving threat landscape, firm-level detection and compliance controls and what the industry must prioritize next. Topics include transaction surveillance, trusted contact and disbursement hold rules, proposed regulatory modernization, victim support resources and cross-sector coordination. Attendees leave with actionable insights to strengthen their programs and better protect senior clients.

Trending Topics Networking and General Lunch Dessert With Exhibitors

Concurrent Sessions:

FINRA's Intelligence Ecosystem: Technology, Products and Engagement* (panel)  – Gallery Ballroom

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)  – West Ballroom

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)  – Gallery Ballroom

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)  – West Ballroom

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

Building a Resilient Cyber and Financial Crime Program* (panel)  – Gallery Ballroom

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. Leave with a roadmap for strengthening your organization's ability to anticipate threats, respond effectively, and protect customers and market integrity.

Conference Adjourns