Here’s an interesting article from the BankInfoSecurity.com website regarding authentication technology:

With the December deadline approaching for implementing better authentication for online banking systems, financial institutions are hard-pressed to come up with technology solutions that will satisfy regulators. It’s going to be a race to the finish line to meet the deadline set by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).

As of July, only 16% of financial institutions had implemented authentication technology capable of meeting FFIEC requirements, according to a survey by Roth Capital Partners. In the same survey, only 5% said they intended to use hardware tokens to meet the FFIEC requirements; hardware tokens, which are devices that plug into a computer’s USB port, are a form of multifactor authentication, which is based on something the user knows, such as a password, and something he has (the token).

Banks have more than the FFIEC to be concerned about; there’s mounting evidence that consumers are leery of conducting transactions online for fear of having their identities stolen. Studies reveal that retail consumers are quitting online banking altogether, and are going back to conducting transactions in person, despite the obvious inconvenience.

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TGG has discussed the Avian Flu on several previous blogs. This is fourth and final article in a series of ideas to consider when planning a Business Continuity Plan that includes the Avian Flu.
This article will address items to consider in Outsourcing, Supplies and Testing sections with this article.

• OUTSOURCING

· Investigate the various personnel firms that specialize in technical personnel and office staffing. (Most likely they will be different firms)
· Establish a relationship with one or more of these firms that complements the banks potential needs.
· Determine the different positions the financial institution could use outsourced personnel that would require minimum training.
· Training videos were mentioned in the previous Blog. Creation of these training videos would be important in training temporary personnel to perform the necessary tasks in the position they are assigned.
· A background check and criminal check of incoming non bank personnel would be necessary before these people can be used in the Bank. Screening the different Personnel Firms is necessary to determine what background checks are performed on their personnel. It would be advantageous for the bank to find a firm that has the same background checks as the bank requires.
· Locate several firms that can do the necessary background checks the financial institution requires. Most banks already have a relationship with one but having one in reserve would create redundancy.

• SUPPLIES

Some of this information is from public sources on the internet.
· Each Financial Institution should have some supplies at each branch to support their personnel.
· Recommended non food supplies are: N95 respirator masks, latex gloves, disinfectant wipes for hands and equipment, eye shields, germicidal surface disinfectant for bathrooms, kitchens, and public areas in the bank. Bottles of waterless hand disinfectant for the general public and bank personnel.
· Bottled water, some easy to store food that is sealed in containers (ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables, soups)
· Nonprescription drugs and other health supplies, including pain relievers, stomach remedies, cough and cold medicines, fluids with electrolytes, and vitamins.
· Extra fuel for generators the bank uses for emergencies.
· Discussion should be given as to: quantities required for the different supplies, inventories of the supplies and storage of the supplies.

• TESTING

· Once training videos have been created, have personnel from non-related departments should review the information to see if they have any questions or issues.
· Testing of the BCP should be conducted if major changes are made.
· Consider having the cross trained personnel perform their non standard duties.
· Consider having selected personnel work from their home to test connectivity, functionality and security.
· Consider testing the banks laptops or users PC’s to ensure that anti virus and firewalls can be implemented and updated daily in the home environment.
· Determine if dial up networking, DSL, ISDN, cable or other connectivity is available for those personnel that could work out of their house.
· Test the security of VPN or other secure means of communication.

Not all of the items that are mentioned in this summary will pertain to each financial institution. We hope the preceding blogs have given you “food for thought� in planning for the future.

We would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Click here to read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 of this topic.