Working Group
Financial Services Industry
The main objective of this industry specific working group is to identify and share the challenges, risks and best practices for the development, deployment and management of secure systems and services in the financial services industry. This consists primarily of ad hoc surveys and studies, as well as collaboration on select, FS-related initiatives with CSA AI, cloud and Zero Trust security working groups.
State of Financial Services in Cloud
Working Group Leadership
Craig Balding
I help enable organisations to safely operate and transact online in the face of dynamic and adaptive threats. After 20 years of attacking and defending top tier firms I founded Resilient Security to provide cyber risk and security advisory, consulting and services.
Sean Gray
Chase
Security Strategy, Threat Management. Senior Director, Information Security Strategy and Threat Mgmt at PayPal.
Troy Leach
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), CSA
Troy Leach has spent more than 25 years advocating for the advancement of responsible, safe technology to improve the quality of living and parity for all.
As the Chief Strategy Officer, Mr. Leach supports Cloud Security Alliance's corporate strategy and ongoing mission to provide new and relevant cloud security awareness, education, research, programs and membership participation. Mr. Leach specifically focuses on external engageme...
| Publications in Review | Open Until |
|---|---|
| Leveraging the Health Data from IoT Wearables | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Comparing FHE and Other PETs | Apr 17, 2026 |
| MLOps Threat Model | Apr 17, 2026 |
Who can join?
Anyone can join a working group, whether you have years of experience or want to just participate as a fly on the wall.
What is the time commitment?
The time commitment for this group varies depending on the project. You can spend a 15 minutes helping review a publication that's nearly finished or help author a publication from start to finish.
Virtual Meetings
Attend our next meeting. You can just listen in to decide if this group is a good for you or you can choose to actively participate. During these calls we discuss current projects, and well as share ideas for new projects. This is a good way to meet the other members of the group. You can view all research meetings here.
Mar
30
CSA FSI Survey Report Focus Group Meeting 1
Focus Group Invitation
The CSA is convening a small group of financial sector volunteers to review and validate our recent State of Cloud and AI in Financial Services survey results, and validate our interpretation of the data to ensure the narrative and conclusions reflect real-world FSI experience.
You are receiving this invitation because you are either involved in the CSA Financial Services Leadership Committee (FSLC), or have previously expressed interest in CSA’s financial services initiatives by joining the CSA FSI Working Group. Your industry perspective helps ensure that the report reflects real-world FSI challenges.
What we’re asking from volunteers
- Participate in a 60–90 minute focus group between 3/30-4/6 (to review key findings and rationale for results). The schedule is as follows. Email recipients will also receive focus group meeting invitations which you can accept or decline according to your availability and interest.
- M 3/30 11AM ET
- W 4/1 1 PM ET
- M 4/6 1 PM ET
- Review and comment on the draft report (comments on clarity, anecdotes, and actionable recommendations)
Survey background: the FSI survey captures a current snapshot of how financial services institutions are adopting cloud and AI along with emerging governance and control challenges and opportunities. The summary of survey results provides a consolidated overview of the 2026 State of Cloud and AI for Financial Services survey based on 336 responses.
This is our current timeline
- March 30 – April 6: Focus groups (2-3 sessions to accommodate time zones)
- April 13: Initial draft report complete
- April 14 – 30: Open peer review period for draft report
- April 16: Optional public review meeting (how to provide feedback)
- April 23: CSA FSLC review during regular meeting
- April 30: Final report review meeting
- May: Final design and publication
If you have any questions or would like to express interest in actively participating in the report review focus group please respond directly to Erik Johnson. Thank you in advance for any support you can provide.
References: Related CSA LinkedIn post and the recording of Troy Leach's Welcome Address from the FinCloud Summit 2026 that touches on this initiative: Welcome Address | FinCloud Summit 2026
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The CSA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Apr
1
CSA FSI Survey Report Focus Group Meeting 2
Focus Group Invitation
The CSA is convening a small group of financial sector volunteers to review and validate our recent State of Cloud and AI in Financial Services survey results, and validate our interpretation of the data to ensure the narrative and conclusions reflect real-world FSI experience.
You are receiving this invitation because you are either involved in the CSA Financial Services Leadership Committee (FSLC), or have previously expressed interest in CSA’s financial services initiatives by joining the CSA FSI Working Group. Your industry perspective helps ensure that the report reflects real-world FSI challenges.
What we’re asking from volunteers
- Participate in a 60–90 minute focus group between 3/30-4/6 (to review key findings and rationale for results). The schedule is as follows. Email recipients will also receive focus group meeting invitations which you can accept or decline according to your availability and interest.
- M 3/30 11AM ET
- W 4/1 1 PM ET
- M 4/6 1 PM ET
- Review and comment on the draft report (comments on clarity, anecdotes, and actionable recommendations)
Survey background: the FSI survey captures a current snapshot of how financial services institutions are adopting cloud and AI along with emerging governance and control challenges and opportunities. The summary of survey results provides a consolidated overview of the 2026 State of Cloud and AI for Financial Services survey based on 336 responses.
This is our current timeline
- March 30 – April 6: Focus groups (2-3 sessions to accommodate time zones)
- April 13: Initial draft report complete
- April 14 – 30: Open peer review period for draft report
- April 16: Optional public review meeting (how to provide feedback)
- April 23: CSA FSLC review during regular meeting
- April 30: Final report review meeting
- May: Final design and publication
If you have any questions or would like to express interest in actively participating in the report review focus group please respond directly to Erik Johnson. Thank you in advance for any support you can provide.
References: Related CSA LinkedIn post and the recording of Troy Leach's Welcome Address from the FinCloud Summit 2026 that touches on this initiative: Welcome Address | FinCloud Summit 2026
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The CSA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://cloudsecurityalliance.zoom.us/j/83523092143?pwd=esDjkazhjPZYkpWrRybCTYVuCTbcTb.1
Meeting ID: 835 2309 2143
Passcode: 671570
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Apr
6
CSA FSI Survey Report Focus Group Meeting 3
Focus Group Invitation
The CSA is convening a small group of financial sector volunteers to review and validate our recent State of Cloud and AI in Financial Services survey results, and validate our interpretation of the data to ensure the narrative and conclusions reflect real-world FSI experience.
You are receiving this invitation because you are either involved in the CSA Financial Services Leadership Committee (FSLC), or have previously expressed interest in CSA’s financial services initiatives by joining the CSA FSI Working Group. Your industry perspective helps ensure that the report reflects real-world FSI challenges.
What we’re asking from volunteers
- Participate in a 60–90 minute focus group between 3/30-4/6 (to review key findings and rationale for results). The schedule is as follows. Email recipients will also receive focus group meeting invitations which you can accept or decline according to your availability and interest.
- M 3/30 11AM ET
- W 4/1 1 PM ET
- M 4/6 1 PM ET
- Review and comment on the draft report (comments on clarity, anecdotes, and actionable recommendations)
Survey background: the FSI survey captures a current snapshot of how financial services institutions are adopting cloud and AI along with emerging governance and control challenges and opportunities. The summary of survey results provides a consolidated overview of the 2026 State of Cloud and AI for Financial Services survey based on 336 responses.
This is our current timeline
- March 30 – April 6: Focus groups (2-3 sessions to accommodate time zones)
- April 13: Initial draft report complete
- April 14 – 30: Open peer review period for draft report
- April 16: Optional public review meeting (how to provide feedback)
- April 23: CSA FSLC review during regular meeting
- April 30: Final report review meeting
- May: Final design and publication
If you have any questions or would like to express interest in actively participating in the report review focus group please respond directly to Erik Johnson. Thank you in advance for any support you can provide.
References: Related CSA LinkedIn post and the recording of Troy Leach's Welcome Address from the FinCloud Summit 2026 that touches on this initiative: Welcome Address | FinCloud Summit 2026
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The CSA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 822 4408 9492
Passcode: 300127
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Apr
23
CSA Financial Services Leadership Committee Meeting
Agendas and slides will be provided in advance of each meeting.
Useful CSA FS Leadership links:
CSA Financial Services Leadership Committee Folder (FSI Research Drive) - decks reside here
CSA Financial Services Industry Circle Community
CSAFS Leadership Committee (Google Group)
CSA Financial Services Industry Research Working Group----------------------------------------
The CSA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: CSA Financial Services Leadership Committee Meeting
Time: Jul 24, 2025 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every 3 months on the Fourth Thu
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 825 5667 1247
Passcode: 987951
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Find your local number: https://cloudsecurityalliance.zoom.us/u/kbMhFLcAT5
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Open Peer Reviews
Peer reviews allow security professionals from around the world to provide feedback on CSA research before it is published.