Secure credit cards: Retailers are on board, banks and credit unions lag

Government and the private sector don't always see eye to eye, but we're working together on an issue of great importance to Californians and all Americans: making credit card purchases safer.

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One crucial sector of the business community, however, has yet to fully buy in.

Why is it credit unions continue to provide their customers with outdated, riskier technology?

Three questions with a CU CEO on adapting to new technology

In October, the credit union had a soft opening of a new, innovative branch with only one employee. The branch features a computer touch screen table and wall, interactive loan consultation and an interactive teller machine (ITM) that video conferences in a remote representative.

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SEFCU President and CEO Michael Castellana said the credit union did not model the branch after any existing financial institutions.

Read the article to see how SEFCU is adapting to new technologies and read what is next for the credit union.

Windows? NO, Linux and Mac OS X Most Vulnerable Operating System In 2014

Apple’s operating system is considered to be the most secure operating system whether it’s Mac OS X for desktop computers or iOS for iPhones.

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But believe it or not, they are the most vulnerable operating system of year 2014. According to an analysis by the network and security solutions provider GFI, the top three most vulnerable operating system are: Apple’s Mac OS X, Apple iOS, and Linux kernel.

What operating system flavors are you using within your credit union?

Video Communication Isn't Just for Big Banks

The number of routine transactions conducted at community bank and credit union branches has gone down 10% annually over the past four years.

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Conversely, mobile traffic is skyrocketing with 50,000 customers downloading banks’/credit unions’ mobile apps each week and executing anywhere from 250 to 300 million online banking logins each month.

Customers are sending a message: Did you get it?

7 Reasons Millennials Are Turning to Credit Unions Instead of Banks

Reason 4: Mobile banking is the new norm - millennials gravitate toward technology and apps that are on the same level as big banks, and found that credit unions are offering “just as many” online services and apps.

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Some Millennials prefer to do all their banking from their cellphones and some feel that banks are not on par with their offerings. Switching to a credit union two years ago meant that Chris Kummer, 33, an associate account executive in public relations in Seattle, could keep using his favorite three financial apps and maintain the personalized service.

Is your credit union keeping up with the millennials needs and desires? Be sure to read the whole article for the other 6 reasons.

Hiring Hackers to Find Software Bugs

When it comes to finding and fixing software bugs, companies have a variety of priorities.

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But whether it’s protecting credit card data or personally identifiable information, securing intellectual property, or preventing online gamers from cheating, one fact remains: finding and fixing security bugs is difficult and labor intensive.

This article looks at the risks and rewards of offering software bug bounties to hackers.

IT's top 3 cloud migration errors

The good news is that most companies are now moving to the cloud; the bad news is that many are doing it poorly

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Despite all the best-practice information out there, huge mistakes are still widely made.

Have you migrated to the cloud? Did you do so successfully?

An updated list of the merchants, cards and apps that accept Apple Pay

Nineteen new banks and credit unions now support Apple Pay.

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These include: Affinity Federal Credit Union, Cabela’s CLUB, Central Bank, Credit Union of Southern California, Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, First National Bank of Omaha, First Sentry Bank, FirstBank, Grow Financial Federal Credit Union, Ideal Credit Union, Morgan Stanley, Redwood Credit Union, State Department Federal Credit Union, Teachers Credit Union, Technology Credit Union, The Northern Trust Company, TIB-The Independent BankersBank, United Federal Credit Union, and Utah First Federal Credit Union.

Read the article to see some of the businesses already using Apple Pay.

Morgan Stanley leads 20 new bank and credit union additions for Apple Pay

Apple continues to expand the reach of its popular mobile payment system, with the Cupertino company rolling out support for cards from nearly two dozen additional financial institutions — including major investment bank Morgan Stanley — on Wednesday.

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The addition of Morgan Stanley may seem odd, given that the firm offers no retail banking services, but that is not the case. Investment banks like Morgan Stanley often offer exclusive credit cards to customers who use the bank's wealth management services.

Read the article to see some of the more than 700 banks and credit unions that have signed up to integrate Apple Pay.

Cloud security certifications: How important are they?

More and more certifications are being created around cloud security. Expert Sean Martin looks at some of the more prominent certifications and examines their value.

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If you are a CSO working for a company that leverages cloud technologies to run its business, what should you look for in a candidate to add to your staff?

Read the article to of see what some of the top certifications are for cloud security.

Credit unions set to take on banks with launch of debit cards

Eleven of the largest credit unions in Ireland are set to launch debit card services, allowing them to compete head-on with banks by offering full current accounts.

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The move is set to transform the services offered by credit unions, which have been concentrated on small loans and savings facilities up to now.

How does your CU stack up to those in Ireland?

SMBs Prep for EMV Shift: How Ready is Your Business?

There is a lot of work involved in implementing [EMV], and some banks have decided to go with a simpler more expedient roll-out, and are still meeting the minimum requirements of the card association while avoiding the time and overhead costs of issuing pins.

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Long Island City, NY-based UNFCU was an early adopter of EMV and one of the only credit card companies that issues chip cards.

Are you EMV ready?

Bank Hackers Steal Millions via Malware

In late 2013, an A.T.M. in Kiev started dispensing cash at seemingly random times of day. No one had put in a card or touched a button. However, the errant machine appears to be the least of the bank’s problems.

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The scope of this attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one of the largest bank thefts ever — and one conducted without the usual signs of robbery.

No bank has come forward acknowledging the theft. Is your firm one of them?

Banking Trojan Dyreza sends 30,000 malicious emails in one day

A massive spam wave is installing banking Trojan Dyreza on tens of thousands of computers to steal sensitive financial data from unsuspecting customers.

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30,000 malicious emails were sent in just one day from spam servers in the UK, France, Turkey, US and Russia.

Read the article to learn more about server-side polymorphism.

App Economy Demands "Security-First"

Protection is still the main driver for security, but organizations understand the application economy demands a new view and approach to security.

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Key findings include the following: mobility matters, the desire to innovate quickly, new attitudes adopted, and increase in security investment.

Read the article to access additional details uncovered by the research.

A Credit Union Cyberattack Defense Manual

With the ever increasing risks that are associated with cyberattacks, companies across industries are realizing the importance of having a cybersecurity team.

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Cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated, and they are able to hack into the biggest financial institutions across the globe, like JP Morgan Chase and HSBC. Any small dropping of the guard can result in catastrophic theft of customer financial records, business data and syphoning of a large amount of funds.

Have you dropped your guard?

The Day Memory Scraping Malware Lost

Every organization today is, or should be, concerned about the spread of dangerous malware being launched in targeted attacks. An example of a recent trend is the aggressive use of memory scraping malware by cyber-criminals against any organization that accepts credit cards – this incudes retail, healthcare, financial services, governmental entities and others. The headlines reflect the scale of the issue – every week there are new headlines of record setting data loss and credit card data theft in organizations of all sizes.

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The issue that causes the most concern about these damaging attacks is that each of these breached organizations had invested a great deal of money and effort to put in place and support a multi-layered in-depth security solution. In addition, they were in certified compliance with standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, GLBA and other regulations. Doubt has surfaced for many organizations who are now wondering “If these large sophisticated companies that take security seriously were breached, how can I be safe?”

Networking Your Way to a Datacenter in the Cloud

As the dream of the fully virtualized data center comes closer to reality, the race is on to integrate SDN into the cloud stack.

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According to U.K. researcher Companies and Markets, an expanding cloud is expected to spur the growth of network fabric topologies as top organizations look to build key functions like continuous data availability, application flexibility and rapid architecture deployment.

What is your firm's place in the SDN cloud race?

Study: Cloud, Mobile Computing to Drive Financial Services Security Market Growth

Research and Markets has forecast the global market for cybersecurity offerings within the banking, financial services and insurance sector to yield a 13.14 percent compound annual growth rate through 2019.

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The increasing use of cloud security and mobile platforms is projected to drive the BFSI cybersecurity market’s growth over the next four years, the research firm said.

Does your firm use any of the firms profiled in the report? (BAE Systems, Booz Allen Hamilton, Computer Sciences Corp., FireEye, IBM and Symantec)

Mobile fraud hits enterprises in the pocket to tune of $240m, report finds

New survey data from mobile identity provider TeleSign has found that enterprises have lost up to $240m (£157.3m) a year because of mobile e-commerce fraud.

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The study, conducted by J. Gold Associates and sponsored by TeleSign and RSA, EMC’s security division, found average revenue loss due to mobile fraud was $92.3m per year (£60.54m).

Is your firm one of the many companies not prepared – or just not bothered – about potential repercussions with respect to the state of mobile security?

Cuba Fertile Ground for Credit Unions

If Dan Mica had his way, he would be on a flight to Cuba tomorrow to help establish the nation’s first credit unions and boost the financial wellbeing of the country’s 11 million citizens. But Mica, a former U.S. Congressman from Florida, former president/CEO of CUNA and current president of consulting firm The DMA Group, knows that such a process isn’t simple.

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A business-to-business connection between the U.S. and Cuba of any kind will have been a long time coming.

Is there a way to partner with another Credit Union based in Cuba?

iPhone Security Could Improve at NCUA: OIG Audit

The NCUA’s Inspector General recommended ways the agency could improve its security policies and controls regarding agency-issued mobile devices, such as iPhones, to enhance the protection of its data and resources.

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The NCUA had been issuing agency-owned iPhones to employees and contractors since April 2012, which could access the agency’s exchange server.

Do you agree with IG's recommendation that the NCUA supplement or enhance its existing mobile device security policies, controls and configuration settings by addressing the security measures, such as passcode guidance or controls, unauthorized applications, container-based encryption, bluetooth controls and QR codes?