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* CUSN and CUProdigy Form Partnership
* Indiana CU League Partners with PSCU
* Alliant CU Teams Up with Hyland Software
* ABNB Federal Credit Union Selects Bluepoint Solutions
* BrandProtect Launches bankSMART
CUProdigy, a long time credit union core processing provider, has formed a partnership with CUSN, which provides products and services to credit unions, big and small, in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plain states. The CUProdigy system encompasses every core processor action, from new member signup to best-in-class disaster recovery.
PSCU, the nation`s leading CUSO, and the Indiana Credit Union League announced a long-term partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, PSCU acquires the credit and debit card processing and servicing currently provided by Credit Union Card Center (CUCC), a business unit of the League`s Servicecorp.
Alliant Credit Union has partnered with Hyland Software to customize its OnBase by Hyland enterprise content management solution, a collective effort that has streamlined fraud investigation practices. Since implementation, each of the $8 billion credit union's six fraud investigators have been able to improve their productivity by several hours per day.
Bluepoint Solutions and PCSi announced Chesapeake, VA-based ABNB Federal Credit Union has selected check capture and item processing services through a previously announced partnership. The credit union will implement ImagePoint Teller capture with integrated fraud and counterfeit detection, ImagePoint ATM capture, QwikDeposit Pro merchant capture, QwikDeposit ToGo mobile capture, and ImagePoint Hub for check image aggregation and cash letter processing.
Internet risk detection and threat mitigation provider BrandProtect announced bankSMART, a new subscription-based, multi-channel, online threat monitoring service designed to help credit unions address the issues raised by the FFIEC`s Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance. bankSMART offers a full range of online threat monitoring capabilities across social media, unauthorized websites, mobile applications and fraudulent email.
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The 12th annual CU InfoSecurity Conference will be held May 21 - 23, 2014 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, NV.
This is a one-of-a-kind conference - a security conference dedicated solely to credit unions. Highly experienced, expert speakers discuss the latest security trends as they specifically apply to credit unions. Also included is a virtual tour of The Partnership FCU and a Case Study of First Tech FCU. The CU InfoSecurity Conference is priced so that the majority of credit unions can afford it - just $395 per person and $295 for returning attendees. Topics include:
* Phishing 2.0 Exploits
* Anti-money Laundering
* DDoS Mitigation Strategies
* Advanced Log Management
* Effectively Using Data Feeds
* Owning Credit Union Networks
* Tuning Your Fight Against Fraud
* New Ways to Eliminate Malware
* Credit Union Virtual Security Tour
* Cyber Criminal Intelligence Programs
* Legal versus Enforceable eSignatures
* Building a Secure E-mail Infrastructure
* Next Generation Authentication Techniques
* Successful Security Awareness Training Programs
Click Here for information, agenda, reservations & more.
Servers are increasingly using SSDs, while traditional hard drives are moving to the back end of data centers for more long-term storage. Micron is looking to address this trend with new solid state drives that offer up to 800GB of capacity. Micron's M500DC SATA SSDs are priced at $1 per gigabyte and come in capacities of 120GB, 240GB, 480GB and 800GB. The SSDs will come in standard drive sizes of 1.8 inches and 2.5 inches and can be plugged into multiple bays. These drives are not based on the emerging NVMe (non-volatile memory express) protocol, which is faster and involves plugging SSDs into faster PCI-Express slots, but instead are based on the older SATA storage protocol.
Cummins Allison announced a new self-service coin counter: Money Machine 2. The new Money Machine 2 sorts coin by denominations into up to 16 high-volume bags and features quieter operation, due to new sound-deadening components throughout the machine. There is also an option for a high-capacity bin unit, featuring strong polymer bins that roll on lightweight dollies.
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SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is an early warning detection system for servers, virtual layer, and applications such as SQL Server, Exchange, and Active Directory. It allows IT Departments to customize alerts, reports, and dashboards, and assists server, Web, database, and application teams in their troubleshooting efforts. The company provides a fully functional trial for 30 days.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has created what it characterizes as the first open source Web application for managing the mobile app vetting process. The mobile app, called AppVet, is a vetting system is available for free. It can support apps from different mobile platforms, including Android, iOS and Windows, depending on tool availability for those platforms. NIST does not provide the testing tools; instead it provides an interface to manage the test results of multiple commercial and open source testing tools.
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Easy Solutions has published a White Paper addressing key questions around 'how ATM Cash-out attacks really work', and 'what can you do' about them, in light of new FFIEC guidelines. The White Paper is available here:
http://www.easysol.net/newweb/login_pdf_total_fraud_protection.php?url=en_WP_TFP.pdf
In 2003, Triton Systems began using Microsoft Windows CE, which means that none of their currently supported ATMs are using the Windows XP platform including 96XX, 97XX, 91XX, 8100, R1600, RL5000, RL2000, FT5000, RT2000, ARGO 7.0, ARGO 12.0, and Traverse. The company says that this choice permitted them to make their own modifications and also secure their systems by using proprietary digital signatures on all software and installation files. This prevents unauthorized loading and execution of unrecognized software. Later this year, Microsoft will end support for Windows CE 5.0. As part of this transition, Triton will migrate to Windows Embedded Compact 7 for all new ATMs.
According to the Storefront Safety Council, hundreds of times per month — there's no central U.S. databank, so the exact number is unknown — criminals use stolen vehicles to ram into buildings and make off with ATMs. The term "crash and grab" is used increasingly to distinguish this crime from ones that simply are based on break-ins. The Storefront Safety Council estimates that if there are 50 ATM thefts per day nationwide and allowing $2,500 for the ATM and $10,000 for repairs and loss of business, the cost of crash and grab theft comes to $228 million per year, not including the theft of cash from the machine itself.
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Here is a chance to learn about real life credit union success stories from various technology vendors through the words of their clients. This week's vendor is:
and their client is:
Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union
Credit Unions - if you have a vendor that you are happy with then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!
Vendors - if you have a credit union that is happy with your solutions then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will give you a $100 discount on your Case Study!
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Javelin Strategy & Research says 74,000 consumers a day embraced mobile banking services last year. The company predicts that 48 percent of mobile consumers will use mobile banking services this year, up from 43 percent last year, and that figure could rise to 63 percent by 2018. The research firm highlights these top desired consumer mobile banking features:
- remote deposit
- peer-to-peer payments
- bill payment
- account alerts
Mobile payments adoption has slowed to modest levels, according to a new survey of consumers with traditional checking accounts from IDC Financial Insights. Slightly more than one-third (37%) of respondents said they used mobile payments, but that is a “relatively modest gain over the last survey,” according to the report. The previous survey, in 2012, reported 34% usage. The top mobile payments providers in order of popularity were:
- PayPal
- iTunes
- Amazon Payments
- Google Wallet
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OnDot Systems unveiled an app that acts as a “remote control” for your credit, debit, and prepaid cards. With this app from the San Jose, California-based startup — known as CardControl — you can turn your cards on and off with the click of a button. The app allows you to set spending limits, disable charges from certain types of merchants, and sync the app to your phone`s GPS so that in the event that you lose your card and someone tries to use it away from your phone, CardControl will alert you to potential fraud. The app requires no external hardware — and no special cards. It is sold directly to FIs and credit card processors, and the company states that in one pilot they saw cardholders increase their average spend by more than 48 percent, while fraud expenses fell by 60 percent.
NEC has launched a biometric security program dubbed NeoFace Monitor that uses face recognition to unlock access to PCs. In action, users simply look at a webcam on their PC to unlock it. NEC claims that it has the most accurate face recognition engine in the latest evaluation by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) known as the Multiple Biometric Grand Challenge. NeoFace Monitor works on Windows 7 and 8, and makes use of Microsoft's Active Directory to manage users.
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Security:
Addressing the Big 3: Compliance, Fraud & Cyber Security
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Digital signage is increasingly popular inside branches, but some credit unions are expanding to outside locations as well. The exterior screens are more expensive than interior screens, but they appeal to people who drive, bus, walk or bike by each day. SunWest Federal Credit Union has experienced good results with exterior digital signage at their branch in downtown Phoenix: the branch saw a 20 percent boost in business. Messages can be changed easily from a remote location with a typical rotation of three to five different brief messages.
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Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, has taken another step further into banking, rolling out a new money-transfer service called Walmart-2-Walmart. The new P2P solution allows consumers to send up to $900 in cash to anyone in the US via its network of 4,000 stores. Transfers up to $50 cost $4.50, and transfers up the limit, $900, cost $9.50 and can be funded by debit cards or cash. Some analysts believe that Walmart-2-Walmart will become another channel to get these cash-preferred customers onto the pre-paid Bluebird platform, and perhaps this P2P service will become an onramp for building a Walmart mobile P2P network.
Security vendor Bitdefender has a protected browser called Safepay designed for financial transactions. In action, it scans your system for malware and then brings up a protected session that exists in isolation from the rest of your desktop. It is a bare-bones browser and there is an optional virtual keyboard. However, it permits you to download executable files and PDFs to your local hard disk, which can be problematic.
Visa announced that later this year they will eliminate almost 50% of its operating rules, which currently total more than 1,500 pages. The card giant stated that the reduction is the result of feedback Visa solicited from issuers, merchants and acquirers.
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Unified Communications provider Fonality announced that their business phone packages are now available in three tiered editions: Essentials, Professional, and Ultimate. The Essentials edition includes basic phone features businesses use in day-to-day operations, while the Professional edition includes the cross platform Heads Up Display web and mobile applications, an integrated softphone, and CRM integration. The Ultimate edition includes Fonality`s full range of features. Fonality provides business phone systems and applications for over 20,000 businesses in 99 countries.
A recent SANS research paper pointed out several best practice guidelines that will help protect VoIP systems:
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Call centers have traditionally dealt with complex issues, both technical and transaction related. But in an increasingly digital world, online, mobile, and tablet banking support issues are growing. For example, at Elevations Credit Union, technology-related calls were just 8% of the total in 2011, now they are 25%. In order to better serve members, the Colorado-based credit unions has implemented numerous quality control measures:
- a month-long training program on member service, products and technology
- ongoing briefings on all marketing programs
- in-depth training on all digital solutions before they are introduced to members
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