November 2007

CU InfoSECURITY News Providing a brief summary of news and information related to security issues for credit unions - Plus some interesting and fun web sites.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

CUNA tracking dramatic increase in phish attempts

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is tracking a dramatic increase in phishing attacks during recent weeks. E-mails purporting to be from CUNA are in circulation nationwide. According to Dorothy Steffens, vice president of CUNA Web Services, CUNA Mutual Group sent out a risk alert earlier in the week to its customers, and CUNA has reported the phish attempts in News Now. CUNA also has updated its fraud alert information on its consumer website, http://www.creditunion.coop, and the association's www.cuna.org home page.
http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system110107-1.html
or http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system110107-1.html?ref=hed
or http://tinyurl.com/2lfwx3

The 10 most important business technology products of 2007

Technology product developments came at a blistering pace in 2007, including big moves from major vendors like Microsoft, Cisco, and Apple, as well as exciting innovations from several upstarts. Here’s my list of the 10 most important business technology products of the year.
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=569&tag=nl.e101
http://tinyurl.com/3y4veg

Customer Identification Programs for Banks, Savings Associations and Credit Unions

The National Consumer Law Center ("NCLC") submits the following comments on behalf of its low income clients regarding the proposed rules on Customer Identification Programs for financial institutions. NCLC makes this comment for two reasons. First, we present comments regarding the potential effect of the proposed regulations on addressing the serious problem to consumers of identity theft. Second, we want to ensure that Customer Identification Programs contain a reasonable method for new immigrants to this country to have access to basic financial services. We believe that these distinct issues do not require contradictory results.
http://www.nclc.org/initiatives/test_and_comm/id_program.shtml
or http://tinyurl.com/2mfg6c

Technology Statistic of The Month

3rd Generation fiber optics has been recently tested by both NEC and Alcatel that pushes 10 trillion bits per second down one strand of fiber (that's 1,900 CDs or 150 million simultaneous phone calls every second.) This is currently tripling about every 6 months and is expected to do so for at least the next 20 years. The fiber is already there. They're just improving the switches on the ends, which means the marginal cost of these improvements is effectively $0.

George Carlin & The Modern Man

George Carlin, the Modern Man
http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=18964

Customer Service Representative

The benefits of offshore outsourcing. A very versatile customer service rep at work.

http://www.flixxy.com/offshore-outsourcing.htm



(Don't stop here. Click on OLDER POSTS below for more news)

Malware attacks on websites grew 30% in third quarter

Phishers continue to focus heavily on financial institutions such as credit unions and banks, which represented 93% of all phishing attacks during third quarter, according to a new online fraud report. A significant shift in the nature of online attacks was reported, with malware-based attacks jumping 30% to more than three million attacks during third quarter, according to Cyveillance's latest "Online Financial Fraud and Identity Theft Report.

http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system110907-5.html?ref=hed
http://tinyurl.com/27bj99

Teachers CU e-Mail Scam Pretends to Warn About Scams

A bogus e-mail using the name of Teachers CU begins by pretending to warn consumers about financial scams, but in reality it is a phishing scam itself. The e-mail starts with a statement that Teachers CU, a $1.704 billion asset, South Bend, Ind.-based credit union, will never contact members to obtain personal financial information through e-mail, snail mail or instant message.
http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system111307-6.html?ref=hed
http://tinyurl.com/2fvh6z

Sanity check: 10 dirty little secrets you should know about working in IT

If you are preparing for a career in IT or are new to IT, many of the “dirty little secrets” listed below may surprise you because we don’t usually talk about them out loud. If you are an IT veteran, you’ve probably encountered most of these issues and have a few of your own to add - and please, by all means, take a moment to add them to the discussion. Most of these secrets are aimed at network administrators, IT managers, and desktop support professionals. This list is not aimed at developers and programmers - they have their own set of additional dirty little secrets - but some of these will apply to them as well.
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=546&tag=rbxccnbtr1
http://tinyurl.com/yt842d

McDonalds Application – And They Hired Him

This is an actual job application a 17-year-old boy submitted at a McDonald's fast-food establishment in Florida – and they hired him because he was so honest and funny!
http://home.cfl.rr.com/kuschskorner/mcdonalds.htm
or http://tinyurl.com/2qp2e5

Deconstructing the Fake FTC E-mail Virus Attack

A targeted e-mail virus disguised as an identity theft inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission appears to have successfully compromised more than 500 PCs, including victims at banks, real estate brokerages, law firms and marketing companies.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/11/deconstructing_the_fake_ftc_em_1.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
or http://tinyurl.com/yvf5sp

CUNA Mutual Issues California Wildfire Scam Warning

CUNA Mutual Group is advising credit unions to warn their members about online scams relating to the California wildfires. Websense Inc., a recognized Web filtering and desktop security software provider, announced its security research team has discovered suspicious online scams designed by criminals to steal money from those donating to the California fire effort.
http://www.cutimes.com/article.php?article=35009
or http://tinyurl.com/2nj8rq