Author: seth

hobvias sudoneighm via Compfight

This blog is brought to you by Tamiflu.

Those of you that have been around the financial services industry for as long as I have know that there have been many times that we have to help “educate” our management to the needs in IT. More often than not, it was the Chief Financial Officer that was the one trying to justify the return on investment(ROI) of your suggestions. These discussion have been an ongoing debate for the past 30 years.

Online banking can offer convenience—and even added security. Our list of the best includes Internet-only outfits as well as brick-and-mortar banks. Here’s how to compare.

I never thought I would have my identity stolen…..but you should know a little about me first. I shred all the credit card applications I get immediately. I keep all my sensitive documents stored in a locked box at home. I secure all online password and monetary transactions through a secure VPN connection. I change my passwords, semi-frequently. I monitor my credit, at least quarterly. I don’t give my personal information to ANYONE, well almost.
I am currently trying to lease a house and needed to fax my application to my Realtor, but she gave me the wrong fax number. The application has just about anything you need to steal an identity (SSN, address, previous address, employment, salary, truck, etc.) except for my bank account numbers. Oh but, there is an addendum in the application authorizing a credit check and available funds in all financial institutions. When she asked me where my application was and told her I faxed it, I knew immediately I may be in trouble because I kept the fax confirmation for the wrong number. Now what do I do? Send another fax to that number asking, who is this? Will you shred my info? Please don’t run up a million credit cards in my name? I tried reverse number lookups, but to no avail. Any suggestions? It looks like freecreditreport.com is about to get another customer for monthly monitoring. It is just frustrating to do everything I can to protect myself and just one number off on a fax will send me into paranoia. It just goes to show you that you can do everything possible to protect yourself, but you still might get bitten by the identity theft bug. Hey, if I sent you a lease application recently, will you shred it please?
Nobody has stolen my identity yet, and I would like to keep it that way.

FROM BANK INFO SECURITY:

I want to recommend this white paper published by BankInfoSecurity.com. Lots to learn about the next generation of security threats and what components are essential to your security strategy.

This was a story that made headlines earlier this year, so it may not be all that newsworthy at this point. However, it does illustrate why we think its a good idea to require authentication, audit logging, and restricted access even to those whom you trust. In a time where a pastor is capable of such a thing, how confident are you that you’re not employing a disgruntled hourly employee who might be interested in a little extra cash on the side?

(more…)

This is the second in a series of information concerning Avian Flu (Pandemic) and how a financial institution can plan ahead and use this in their Business Continuity Plan.

Why do financial institutions spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on firewalls, 24/7 intrusion monitoring, multi-factor authentication, spy ware and anti-virus systems, but security training ends with an acceptable use policy that no one ever reads? With 80% of all fraud and security attacks coming from internal sources, a greater emphasis needs to be put on security training and awareness for financial institution employees.