ReadyTalk makes web conferencing, online webinars and training sessions possible

Do you find yourself participating in multiple meetings, training sessions and webinars? Do they take up a majority of your take with all the time you spending going to and from them? What if you could actively participate in all of them just using your iPad, desktop, or Outlook?

Image source: Flickr

ReadyTalk, a provider of audio and web conferencing and webinar services, yesterday announced the availability of ReadyTalk Mobile, an iPad application that gives people the flexibility to participate in an online meeting, webinar or training session from anywhere.

Whether you are the one conducting the meeting or the individual attending, this application makes it easy to plan, invite others, and participate in the event while not only being able to hear everything, but also see anything that is being presented. This online tool may help us feel as though we are actually making use of all the time we have in a day that previously we felt we never had enough of.

So if you are a smaller company or credit union, other than for compliance regulations, why use log management? A log management system can analyze the logs, looks for irregularities, spot suspicious events, and even track repeated failed login attempts or port scans. Even within smaller companies, a breach of security is still a definite possibility. Is your company using any sort of log management system? If so, have you found it to be beneficial? If you are not using one, what are your hesitancies in taking the next step to protect your company?

How can you incorporate this application into your business? Look here for more ideas.

Log Management and how it could help your credit union

If you aren’t a large business with hundreds of employees, log management may not be one of the busiest IT positions. That is not to say that in a small company, log management isn’t effective.

Image source: LogLogic

Log management vendors are finding that the companies that are benefitting from their systems are usually larger companies where security is considered to be more of an issue.

“Of course, some compliance regulations—PCI DSS is a good example—are all about security anyways. But would companies use log management products if it wasn’t for compliance regualtions? ‘Bigger companies, yes, but for the smaller companies, probably not,’” according to Mandeep Khera, chief marketing officer at LogLogic.

So if you are a smaller company or credit union, other than for compliance regulations, why use log management? A log management system can analyze the logs, looks for irregularities, spot suspicious events, and even track repeated failed login attempts or port scans. Even within smaller companies, a breach of security is still a definite possibility. Is your company using any sort of log management system? If so, have you found it to be beneficial? If you are not using one, what are your hesitancies in taking the next step to protect your company?

For more information about log management, the why, the how, the vendors and pricing, look no further! Find the information you need right here!

Microsoft Employees and Cybersecurity Researchers Attack Online Crime

Have you ever been a victim of an online hacker? Has your personal information ever been stolen? The actions of two groups are looking out for your safety and your members' satefy.

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The determination of Microsoft employees and various other cybersecurity researchers to take down botnets is definitely paying off. The two separate groups were able to take down botnets that infected thousands of computers to steal personal and financial information.

Some of the computers that were infected were found to “blast pharmaceutical spam and, in some cases, steal Bitcoins, a virtual currency that is impossible to recover once stolen.” Thanks to these raids, the personal and financial information of countless individuals can be restored.

Want to hear more about how they attacked online crime? Look here for the complete article.

Use of iPad Helps ADT Double Their Sales

ADT has reaped the benefits of using an iPad in many aspects of their business. The applications that users can install allows homeowners to monitor their home security while away, increase sales revenue, schedule meetings and have even been able to cut back on the time the it takes to present a home to any potential homeowners.

Image source: Fotopedia

Salespeople within the company have been trained how to use the iPad and are finding that there are plenty of ways to improve the way that they do business.

“So what’s coming that’s so impressive? First, ADT expects to have all 4,000 salespeople using iPads by May. Second, it plans to deploy two more apps – a pricing configurator, and the ability to take electronic signatures. This will allow reps to quickly show different ADT systems and options and let customers sign their contracts all using the iPad,” according to a recent Forbes article.

Has your credit union implemented the iPad or any other mobile device, reaping the rewards of its many uses? Read more about how ADT is improving productivity and doubling sales.

Increase in technology and mobility, increase in fraud?

As the world becomes more and more technologically savvy, an increasing number of individuals use their phones and computers to purchase items.

Image source: Flickr

But is this quick and easy process safe? Randy Vanderhoof of the Smart Card Alliance says yes.

Have you taken that next step and taken advantage of enabling transactions through mobile device? Does the fear of fraud keep you or your members from engaging in this convenience?

Look hear to read more about what was uncovered during an interview with Vanderhoof.

Compromised Accounts Leads to Immediate Action by ELGA CU

Do you fear that any of your cardholders will be part of debit or credit fraud?

An ELGA Credit Union in Michigan had to deal with this exact situation. A disturbing 450 cards were in question when the company was informed. "I know we were not the only institution notified in the alert, but we decided to take action as soon as we learned about it,” says Frank Wilber, executive vice president of the Burton-based ELGA Credit Union.

As a result of debit and credit fraud, credit unions cover the customers’ loss. This financial burden is one no company wishes to encounter. How can it be avoided altogether?

Read more about what the Burton-based ELGA Credit Union did to keep customers informed of the situation. Would you have handled it differently? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Diary of a laptop theft - what would you do?

A recent computer theft highlights the critical differences between “backup” versus protecting local & cloud storage from identity theft.

When a computer or mobile device gets stolen, what do you worry about most? Is it that your work is gone? Or that your personal information is on the device available for the theft to see? What about all of the accounts that are accessible online - captured in the history of the web browser and system menus and explorers? Are you worried about your gmail, your online banking, and your cloud-stored contact list?

This article describes the step-by-step actions as police attempt to help a victim recover their stolen devices. It also captures the victim's thought process and fears as they realize all that needs to be done now that these devices are in the hands of a thief.

We've been warned that it's always a great idea to save your data. We are also told to keep track of credit card issuers, card numbers, and phone numbers in case they are lost and stole. These two pieces of advice can be combined to assure the safety of our information within our digital life. Read the full, and very interesting, article at http://www.gregarnette.com/blog/2012/03/stolen-macbook-and-ipad-re-affirms-cloud-backup-strategy/.

Battle of the Electronic Wallets

Mobile-phone carriers are seeking a beachhead in phone-based payments. Only problem? Google got there first.

Tech experts, such as Google and Isis, are now battling to offer the best mobile or electronic wallet with the hope of capturing mobile phone advertising dollars, which could be substantial given that $200 billion spent on retail advertising every year.

Much like the very early days of e-commerce in the mid 90’s, today represents the very early days of the electronic wallet; a smart phone loaded with special chips that can transmit credit-card information and receive store offers . The armada of partners expected to participate and benefit from the electronic wallet include: all the major credit card brands and three banks with 100 million customers.

Google, with its Google Wallet already being accepted by 150,000 merchants, is forcing carriers to face the risk that Google is going to take over the lucrative slices of mobile business. The race is on as the companies scram to get merchants to install the $100 software into the new checkout terminals, so that their wallets are accepted and they can manage sending advertisements and loyalty points back to consumers.

Do banks need to be concerned with security glitches allowing phone thieves to go on electronic spending sprees? See the full article at http://www.technologyreview.com/business/39825/.

New Online Technology Helps Prevent “The One that Got Away”

Instead of having its members abandon their efforts to obtain a loan altogether or even worse, go elsewhere for the loan because of the lag in time to completion, Northwest Federal Credit Union has utilized online technology which has increased their loan close rate to a staggering 86 percent.

The system utilized by NWFCU to reduce the time lost while loan officers played “phone tag” with members to complete their loan applications, consists of a variety of communication tools created by a combination of DigitalMailer’s communication systems and MeridianLink’s multi-channel allowing the Credit Union to automatically connect with members interested in obtaining loans.

This technology allows NWFCU to stays in touch with members at every step in the borrowing process, without putting a strain on staff resources." Want to learn more about how this tech savvy system can free up your staff to close loans? Read the full article to find out more.

Enterprise Social Networks Deserve Time, Careful Consideration

Times have indeed changed as companies make the move from blocking social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, to bringing the fundamentals of social networking into the enterprise to promote collaboration, innovation and sharing.

Image source: http://www.strongmandigital.com.au

Putting social network statistics aside, it is still obvious that enterprise social networks give businesses a key platform to make their business personal to the customer. It would be a grave mistake to ignore the potential successes to be had through the implementation of enterprise social media. However, as more businesses begin to recognize the great potential of enterprise social networks, seventy percent of internal social initiatives eventually fail because those businesses didn’t do their homework.

So, what homework should small business do before a rollout? Read the full article to get some ideas.

AmEx Syncs With Twitter To Turn #Hashtags Into Savings

Want $20 back from Whole Foods when you use your AmEx card? Tweet #AmExWholeFoods. Here's what's behind the new deals for the sharing generation.

American Express unveiled a new program with Twitter to let cardmembers sync accounts with the social network, and earn savings from big brands such as Whole Foods, Best Buy, and Zappos--just by retweeting certain hashtags.

Read the full article.

Data Protection for Small Business

If your server crashes this afternoon, can you recover your data? What will you do if your office burns down tonight?

Because the stakes are so high, the first item on any small business to-do list should be to properly protect their data. This article covers three things small business should do in order to do just that.

Read the full article

Breached Card Details Threaten Privacy

Data breaches tied to credit and debit cards accounted for more than 25 percent of all breaches in 2011, according to a new report.

Breach numbers overall have declined, with breaches in the financial-services sector accounting for less than 4 percent of all breaches. While, from 2010 to 2011, the financial sector saw losses linked to debit and credit compromises drop from 18.6 percent to 1.6 percent, merchants and businesses saw jumps in debit and credit losses, from 4.3 percent in 2010 to 12.9 percent in 2011.

Read the full article.

Most Common Passwords

'Password1' is the No. 1 Password Employed by Business Users

Unfortunately, that's just the most cringe-worthy example of bad enterprise security cited by Trustwave in its recently released Global Security Report for 2012.

So, you ask, why "Password1"? Read the full article to find out.

Smartphones Continue To Grow In Popularity

American ownership of smartphones stands at 46%.

Interestingly, this number is larger than the number of adults who own cell phones that aren’t smart phones, which is currently at only 41%.

Operating system details from Pew Research:

• Android devices are used by 20% of cell owners, up from 15% in May 2011
• iPhones are used by 19% of cell owners, up from 10% in May 2011
• Blackberries are used by 6% of cell owners, down from 10% in May 2011

How will these mobile devices change the way CUs connect with their members?

Read the full article

Targeting Merchants, Square Debuts Register iPad App And Analytics

The Square app has a completely new UI, and a better integration with Card Case, which is Square’s consumer-facing loyalty, payments and merchant-discovery app.

The new app’s UI has been reconfigured so that it’s a perfect fit for brick and mortar businesses, whether they have 10 items or 10,000. The new app and Square also features in-depth analytics, allowing merchants to segment consumer payments data and transactions.

Square says it is now processing $4 billion in payments volume per year, which is up from $2 billion in mobile payments volume expected in October 2011.

Read the full article

Your Webcam Can Read Your ID Card To Verify Your Identity

Mattes' company Jumio is formally introducing Netverify, which turns any device into a personal ID reader.

It's like Jumio's previous product Netswipe, which can turn any device into a credit card reader -- all by using the webcam on your computer. Users can pay with their webcam so their credit card details are never stored on their computer -- making it much more secure to use than methods that require the user to type in numbers.

Read the full article

Remote ATM Vulnerability – JACKPOT!

There have been a number of ATM breaches, such as in 2008 when several Citibank-branded ATMs located in 7-Eleven convenience stores were compromised to extract account numbers and PINs.

Barnaby Jack, Director of Security Testing at IOActive, was able to demonstrate remotely gaining control of not one, but two ATM machines that he purchased – causing both of them to empty their cash contents onto the stage at the Blackhat Security Conference. With all of the cash extracted from Jack's ATMs, one might think that remote control over the ATM is no longer valuable. But, this is so not the case.

Read the full article

The Credit Card Is The New App Platform

Credit and debit cards are ubiquitous, but they’re mostly pretty dumb. That’s about to change.

Online commerce is now a $200 billion industry, but it’s still small compared to offline transactions. Up to 70% of consumer spending is influenced by Web and mobile research, but over 90% of actual transactions are still conducted in the physical world. Retail marketers know they can advertise more efficiently if they can actually track and close the redemption loop from online browsing to offline buying. Major consumer internet and financial services companies are also highly motivated, as they see a path to greater advertising and promotion-based revenue if they can demonstrate more marketing value through closing the loop.

So what will be the impact of this emerging app platform on the card carrying public?

Read the full article