Author: seth

  • 5 Ways to Reduce the Threat of Phishing Within Your Bank

    Phishing remains a major threat for both individuals and the businesses that serve them. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group’s Global Phishing Survey, at least 123,972 sites around the world were used to launch phishing attacks targeting banks in the last half of 2014. In the first half of 2015, almost 41 percent of phishing attacks targeted banks.reduce phishing in your bank

    Those attacks were split into two categories: mass phishing, which lures customers to fake sites asking for their credit card information, and spear phishing, which targets individuals directly in an attempt to get them to send money to a fake account or compromise their identity.
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  • The Biggest Cybersecurity Risks You’ve Never Considered

    The cybersecurity landscape is evolving daily. Yep, it sure keeps us on our toes here at Vala Secure!

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  • Apple Improves Device Security iOS 9

    One of the best ways to ensure the security of your information is keeping your software up to date. Hackers are continuously looking for opportunities to get your data, so trying to outwit hackers requires continual alertness. Keeping systems current helps, because vendors issue patches to fix the latest known bugs.computer network security and risk management

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  • 3 Key Compliance Management Trends for Community Banks

    Community banks can improve their compliance management processes in three simple ways. Begin by reviewing and strengthening existing corporate compliance program policies. Then move on to building a culture of compliance within your organization. These tasks will require some effort from managers and board members, but don’t cost very much money. Compliance management tools are the one component that can require an outlay of funds, but the cost is minimal when compared with alternatives that are prone to errors and difficulties.

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  • 4 Things to Watch For When Running an In-House Penetration Test

    4 Things to Watch for When Running an In-House Penetration Test.pngBusinesses that keep sensitive data on their computer networks need penetration tests to make sure hackers do not have access to the information. Testing often starts with a vulnerability assessment, which is an exercise that evaluates the network’s security and creates a list of potential security flaws. By scanning the network, you can often discover compromises that you didn’t know were there.
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  • Plight of the IT Guy

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    Video transcript:

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  • How Do You Manage Managed Service Providers? [VIDEO]

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    “You can have all the metrics in the world. If there’s no consequences, it’s useless.”

    Here we spoke with Anne Benigsen after her presentation around best practices and strategies to manage vendors. She made some very strong points in her presentation about the control you really do have over your vendors. Lots of IT administrators act like the vendor has the say and Anne wants to impart that with the proper amount of consideration from your team on the frontend and then ongoing accountability and management during the relationship, your organization can manage and set a higher level of quality for your organization. It just takes the time and planning to do it. 

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  • Top 3 Things You Can do to Best Manage Your Vendors [VIDEO]

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    We now live in an outsourced world. The ability (and scalability) it allows our businesses by outsourcing functions of our business and IT infrastructure continues to increase each day. That is why vendor management has become a very important practice among CIOs and risk management teams. And just because you outsource the function does not mean you can outsource the risk. The risk is still on you and your board of directors! Here are three ways to manage your vendors: 

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  • How to Identify New Risks

    It recently occurred to me that with any risk there will always be a typhoid mary.  Which made me consider the idea of how to recognize new and emerging risks so as an institution grows, they never have to be on the wrong side of a “dramatic outbreak” so – to – speak. 
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  • New Compliance Audit Guidance for Health Care: What You Need to Know

    In the past, the compliance guidance from the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services emphasized that health care governing boards focus on three key areas: 

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