BANK tech-trends News
 

February 11 - February 15, 2008

• Hardware News
• Software Updates
• ATMs/Kiosks
• Biometric Digest Highlights
• Wireless World
• Security Section
• Leaders Roundtable
• Technology and Marketing
• Online Banking/E-Commerce/
  Website Design
• Internet Access
• Call Centers

Hardware News

Western Digital unveiled its new environmentally friendly, energy-conscious GreenPower family of enterprise hard drive products. The new WD RE2 GreenPower hard drives come in 500GB, 750 GB and 1TB capacity. Reportedly, the new hard drives consume an average of 4-5 watts less than other drives available in the market. The hard drives come with Intelligent Drive Technology, and they monitor workloads and automatically invoke idle mode whenever possible to help reduce unnecessary power consumption.

Banks looking to replace or upgrade their video surveillance cameras may want to take a look at megapixel cameras. A big issue that megapixel cameras have faced is how to cope with the volume of data produced, which demands more bandwidth and storage volume. However, improved compression algorithms, more widespread high-speed Ethernet deployments and reductions in storage prices are making megapixel cameras more attractive. Megapixel cameras have also suffered from low-light performance issues that have limited their deployment and end-user appeal, an issue being addressed by the sensor manufacturers. Proponents argue that a single megapixel camera can provide the same coverage as several standard resolution cameras, and at a much higher quality. Over the next two years, the industry can expect to see a number of new companies to enter the market which should bring improved feature sets at lower costs.

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ATMs/Kiosks

A British company by the name of Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) has a product called SigNature DNA which is designed to protect cash in transit. Their devices help banks recognize stolen cash as they discharge an intense liquid dye onto currency when the transport box is accessed illegally or deviates from the predetermined location. APDN claims that SigNature DNA will enable banks to identify the original owner of the dye-marked stolen cash. This is possible because each transport box will have an individualized SigNature DNA sequence - the identified stolen cash can be returned to its rightful owner using APDN's authentication platform.

Boston-based Dove Consulting says that the average monthly revenue per-ATM is currently about $1,000, compared to an average monthly cost per-terminal of $1,700. As a result, many banks that deploy ATMs are struggling with how to redefine how they measure ATM profitability. The firm suggests that a better measurement for the value of ATMs is the impact they have on customer retention. Research by Dove Consulting showed that customers who use ATMs not owned by their bank have higher attrition rates than customers who use their own bankn’s ATMs, and their findings showed that it doesn’t take many saved customers to make up for the cost of deploying an ATM.

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The International Standards Organization has published a standard to increase the security of financial transactions over electronic media. The new standard, ISO 19092:2008, Financial services – Biometrics – Security framework, establishes the security requirements for the implementation and management of biometric identification technology within the financial industry. ISO 19092:2008 also describes the security framework for using biometrics for authentication of individuals in financial services, and introduces the types of biometric technologies and addresses issues concerning their application.

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TowerGroup has announced new research that "finds that the most critical driver for the successful evolution of mobile banking and payments will be the ability of financial institutions and mobile operators to balance ease of use with security." The report suggests that serious consequences may result from security procedures that are either too lax, or too stringent. If consumers find registration and authentication procedures burdensome, adoption of this new channel will slow. If data security is compromised, negative publicity will quickly sow fears about the safety of banking "over the air." The TowerGroup ViewPoint, titled "Mobile Banking and Payments Security and Usability: What's in Your Mobile Wallet?" discusses the challenges of balancing consumer trust with convenience.

The U.S. seems to be moving closer to a goal of using mobile handsets to accomplish financial transactions and make purchases as several competing market players align on both technology and objectives, according to research company In-Stat. Although 2008 will not be "the year of mobile payments" in the U.S., some progress is likely, the high-tech market research firm predicted. The firm predicts that between 8 million and 30 million customers in North America will be using NFC-based contactless payments by 2012. More than 34 million cell phones could be used for other financial applications, such as online banking, by 2012.

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Peter Tippett, vice president of risk intelligence for Verizon Business and the inventor of the program that became Norton AntiVirus, said that about one third of today's security practices are based on outmoded or outdated concepts that don't apply to today's computing environments. He said that the security industry focuses way too much time on vulnerability research, testing, and patching, and he suggested that many security pros waste time trying to buy or invent defenses that are 100 percent secure. Tippett notes that only about 8% of companies have enabled their routers to do 'default deny' on inbound traffic, even fewer do it on outbound traffic. He points to this as an example of a simple effort that could pay high dividends. He is also a big fan of security awareness programs.

Websense recently released a new report that reveals that - for the first time - the number of legitimate Web sites compromised by attackers has surpassed those purposefully created by attackers. Websense researchers warn Internet users to be wary of what sites they click on and visit - even their favorite trusted sites. These sites pose a significant business risk because traditional security measures are not designed to handle the attacks, and the attackers are using sophisticated techniques such as spoofing search engine results to drive traffic to infected sites. Attackers know that compromising sites with generally good reputations - sites that have a built-in group of visitors - coupled with more effective and targeted e-mail lures, can increase the success rate of attacks.

Twelve years after its 1995 acquisition of PIX (Private Internet EXchange) creator Network Translation, Cisco has released an End-of-Sale (EOS) notice for Cisco PIX Products. The Cisco EOS notice covers all PIX security appliances, software, accessories and licenses. So far, the Linux platform based Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution vendor Astaro, has been the only competitor to address the Cisco PIX end-of-sale notice by announcing its Upgrade Your Cisco PIX trade-in program. The Astaro trade-in program offers Cisco PIX users 20% off the list price on all Astaro hardware, software and maintenance for 3 or 5 year agreements, with the return of a Cisco PIX firewall appliance.

- Detect and prevent internal and external attacks on your network
- Meet compliance standards and guidelines such as FFIEC

Banks are mandated to implement controls for ensuring the integrity of customer data and information systems. Log Management solutions that consistently monitor, store and analyze log data are essential components of a defense in depth program for protecting these critical assets.

EventTracker from Prism Microsystems secures IT networks from cyber attacks and insider-threats by automating the real time collection, analysis and storage of event logs from all sources. EventTracker provides a unique capability that integrates real-time log correlation and in-depth analysis capabilities with change management. This comprehensive security management approach allows you to quickly detect vulnerabilities and remediate them before costly data breaches occur. EventTracker comes integrated with over 1000 targeted reports to prove to auditors that internal processes are in tune with policies and appropriate safeguards are in place.

Deployed at dozens of credit unions and over 600 companies worldwide, EventTracker is a powerful, cost-effective solution that is highly scalable yet easy to implement and maintain.

Download a free trial and get further information at www.eventlogmanager.com

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Security:

Perimeter, Host and Endpoint Security – Finding the Right Mix

Arcot - http://www.arcot.com   Read R. 'Doc' Vaidhyanathan's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Arcot.pdf

Astaro - http://www.astaro.com Read Alex Quinonez's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Astaro.pdf

Code Green Networks - http://www.codegreennetworks.com   Read Brian Czarny's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/CGN.pdf

Digital Resolve - http://www.digital-resolve.net Read Dennis Maicon's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/DigitalResolve.pdf

e-DMZ Security - http://www.e-dmzsecurity.com   Read Kris Zupan's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/e-DMZ.pdf

HEIT - http://www.goheit.com   Read Dan Holt's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Heit.pdf

Integrated Computer Solutions - http://www.icsinc.com   Read Stephen Goldsby's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/ICS.pdf

MagTek - http://www.magtek.com   Read Kiran Gandhi's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/MagTek.pdf

Netsecuris - http://www.netsecuris.com   Read Leonard Jacobs' comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Netsecuris.pdf

Network Box - http://www.networkboxusa.com   Read Pierluigi Stella's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/NetworkBox.pdf

Perimeter eSecurity - http://www.perimeterusa.com   Read Kevin Prince's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Perimeter.pdf

Proofpoint - http://www.proofpoint.com   Read Sandra Vaughan's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Proofpoint.pdf

Sydel - http://www.sydelcorp.com   Read Antonio Gonzalez's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Sydel.pdf

TraceSecurity - http://www.tracesecurity.com   Read Jim Stickley's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/TraceSecurity.pdf

TriGeo Network Security - http://www.trigeo.com   Read Michelle Dickman's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/TriGeo.pdf

ZixCorp - http://www.zixcorp.com   Read Dena Bauckman's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Zix.pdf

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Unitek Education, an IT education and training organization, announced the introduction of a personalized Microsoft CRM portal. The educational portal has courses for new users, customers upgrading from CRM 3.0, and anyone interested in improving their skill level with Microsoft CRM. Unitek, recently named the Microsoft Training Partner of the Year, said they are offering the portal because they noticed a "distinct lack of personalized, one-on-one Microsoft CRM training."

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Fiserv’s CheckFree electronic bill-pay unit has unveiled a home-based remote deposit capture service it believes will tap growing consumer demand for electronic banking. Dubbed Remote Deposit Capture for Consumers, the service will be available through the online banking sites of Fiserv/CheckFree financial institution customers that will license the CheckFree software. CheckFree says that they have designed a service that reduces the process to a few essential steps using home-based scanners with prompts from the bank's website. Each bank will set its own funds availability and fraud control policies.

According to research by one research firm, social banking platforms - such as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending networks like Zopa and Prosper - will grow to control 10% of the worldwide market for retail lending and financial planning by 2010. The consultancy defines 'social banking' as a combination of trends - such as green practices, social entrepreneurship, P2P lending and financial planning via social networks - with banking products and services.

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Internet Access

Webroot, a company that made its fortune in the client-side spyware detection market, announced its entry into the software-as-a-service (SaaS) market with Webroot E-Mail Security SaaS, an e-mail security service for small to mid-size organizations. The e-mail scanning works through both cloud-based scanning and by Webroot's AntiSpyware Corporate Edition with AntiVirus end-point software. Between the two products, the security service uses up to five different antivirus and two different spam filtering engines. The service requires no edge network hardware, such as filters or security gateways, as is often the case with e-mail filtering. Webroot claims to protect against 98 percent of unsolicited e-mail and 100 percent of known viruses. The security system also provides a Managed Encryption Service for encrypting data on a peer-to-peer basis. Additionally, Webroot offers desk-to-desk e-mail encryption via public and private keys for an added layer of security.

Zeacom, a provider of unified communications solutions for small-to-medium organizations, announced that they have received the 2007 Product of the Year by Internet Telephony Magazine. Zeacom Communications Center (ZCC) provides presence, telephony, fax and voice messaging with unique caller greetings inside Microsoft Outlook or using Zeacom's own interface.

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Call Centers

IVR (interactive voice response) systems are commonplace at many banks, but looking to the future some observers say that there could be IVVR (interactive voice and video response) systems coming online. With an IVVR in place and video phones/video PC software on the consumer side, contact centers can show callers relevant videos — e.g., special promotions, product/service announcements, advertisements, etc. — while they are waiting in queue. Centers will also be able to use IVVR to boost their self-service strategy by enabling callers to complete transactions in the IVVR system, where they receive all the information they need via automated voice and video.

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