BANK tech-trends News
 

February 9, 2009 - February 13, 2009

• 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

Seagate announced a new lineup of enterprise storage drives that aim to cut power consumption. The company is rolling out two new drive models, the 2.5-inch Constellation and the 3.5-inch Constellation ES drives. The 2.5-inch Constellation will have capacities ranging from 160 GB and 500 GB, while the 3.5 Constellation ES comes in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. Seagate said that the drives are designed to offer a smaller footprint, cut energy consumption by about half and be more stackable in tight data centers.

SonicWall is putting its Global Management System software onto an appliance to make the platform easier to deploy. Called EM 5000, the appliance contains GMS 5.1 software, which has all the features of the latest GMS version plus software necessary to deploy it on the appliance. GSM is designed for organizations to manage multiple SonicWall security appliances that range from firewall/VPN gear to unified threat management boxes to backup and recovery appliances.

Back to Top

Back to Top

ATMs/Kiosks

Triton announced plans to produce a new affordable off-premise ATM dubbed the RL1600. The machine features a compact, walk-up design with a color display, TCP/IP communication capabilities and a Windows CE 5.0 operating system. It comes standard with a 60mm printer, a UL 291 business hours cabinet, the Talaris MiniMech dispenser and a customizable back-lit mid-topper graphic sign.

In an effort to fight the growing number of ATM thefts, Wincor Nixdorf is now offering an integrated ink-staining system for their ProCash 4000 series. Ink staining renders the money useless and is triggered when the ATM’s cassettes are removed without authorization or when the ATM is shaken or its position changed.

RBS WorldPay, the US payments processing arm of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, allegedly lost $9 million in a 30 minute period during a global ATM heist that involved 100 cloned cards in 49 cities worldwide. Although only 100 cloned cards were used, the criminals behind the scam allegedly managed to withdraw up to $9 million by lifting the daily withdrawal limits on each card, so that they could be used over and over again.

Back to Top

The Aegis Bio encrypted hard drive not only has hardware encryption but also is one of the few drives with a built-in biometric fingerprint reader. The reader lets you bypass creating a password for accessing the drive; instead, you register your fingerprint and then swipe your finger across the reader. The bundled software from Upek also lets you scan your fingerprint to log in to Windows. Another tool automatically enters saved passwords (and other data) into forms when you swipe your finger. The Apricorn Aegis Bio runs around $300 for 500GB.

Back to Top

According to Javelin Strategy and Research, about 42% of smartphone owners have tried mobile banking, nearly four times higher than the 11% of consumers who don’t own smartphones. Security and privacy concerns remain front and center for many consumers. Javelin's research shows that only 10 percent of consumers overall show strong confidence in the security of mobile banking, however those who have used mobile banking show increased confidence. Users of mobile banking are less worried about the safety of the channel, with 30% rating the process as secure.

Cell phone-based payment transactions are widely used in Japan, but the technology's adoption in the United States faces a number of hurdles. Industry observers say that the various companies playing a role in the technology's rollout have yet to define standards and agree on a revenue-sharing model. Also required is a mediator that both the financial institutions and the carriers can trust to activate the virtual credit cards inside the handhelds. University of Massachusetts professor Kevin Fu is less concerned about the risk of account fraud from mobile payments than he is about privacy infringement. However, he is optimistic that in time virtual credit cards "will become one of the best ways to do mobile payments."

Back to Top

According to BeyondTrust, 9 of out 10 critical bugs reported by Microsoft last year could have been made moot, or at least made less dangerous, if people ran Windows without administrative rights. BeyondTrust, which touts its Privilege Manager as a way for companies to lock down PCs, said that of the 154 bugs published and patched by Microsoft in 2008, critical or not, 69% would have been blocked or their impact reduced by configuring users to run without administrative rights.

According to Deloitte Touche, financial institutions are currently exposed to an increased risk of data breaches due in part to tighter budgets. More than half of respondents (56%) to their worldwide survey say that budgetary constraints and/or lack of resources are the leading barriers to ensuring information security. The study suggests that security attacks that exploit human error and breaches caused by distracted or disgruntled employees may be the root cause of information security failures in coming months. The majority of respondents (86%) confirm that human error is the leading cause of information systems failure.

Back to Top

Security:

Protecting Customer Data at Rest and in Motion

CheckFree - http://www.checkfree.com Read Christopher Beier's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/CheckFree.pdf

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

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

Gladiator Technology - http://www.gladiatortechnology.com Read Danny Johnston's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Gladiator.pdf

Guardian Analytics - http://www.guardiananalytics.com Read Tom Miltonberger's comments:     http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Guardian.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 Keith Young's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/ICS.pdf

Intrepidus Group - http://www.intrepidusgroup.com   Read Rohyt Belani's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Intrepidus.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

Reclamere - http://www.reclamere.com   Read Kevin Doyle's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Reclamere.pdf

Simpler-Webb - http://www.swinc.com   Read Jeff Simpler's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SimplerWebb.pdf

SkyRecon Systems - http://www.skyrecon.com   Read Sean Martin's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SkyRecon.pdf

Software and Management Associates - http://www.smausa.com Read Michael W. Taylor's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SMA.pdf

Back to Top

A new report from the Aite Group debunks 10 myths about unbanked and underbanked consumers. Among the myths debunked by the report is the belief that consumers are unbanked or underbanked because of cultural and attitudinal reasons. Instead, it reveals that people are unbanked for very practical reasons, including credit, pricing, cash flow and service issues. Fifty-three percent of unbanked consumers in Aite Group's survey are impeded by credit issues, while an additional 28% face pricing issues with checking accounts, 12% are impeded by cash flow issues, and 7% constrained by service issues.

Back to Top

Celent has released a report that states that there are over 46 million US households banking online, a 7% increase over 2007. This represents 41% of all US households and 67% US households in the addressable market (of banked consumers that use the Internet). In their report entitled 'Retail Internet Banking Vendors: Shifting Gears to Optimize', the Boston-based financial research and consulting firm finds that CheckFree (which acquired Corillian in 2007 and is now part of Fiserv) stands out as the clear leader, with Digital Insight (now part of Intuit) again finishing in the top three. Metavante finds itself in the top two position.

According to a marketing research company that provides marketing data and services to many of the Internet's largest businesses, consumers are spending less time on traditional online banking sites. In general, engagement at many of the top banking sites declined in Q3 2008 versus a year ago, according to data released by comScore. Marc Trudeau, senior director, financial services, comScore, says: "Americans have less cash, are spending less and have experienced a significant decline in the value of their assets. As a result, we're seeing shifts in the way consumers manage their finances online, such as less frequent and shorter visits to their banking Web site, which has significant implications for marketers trying to reach new and existing customers." 

Back to Top

Internet Access

Digium introduced the latest version of its Switchvox SMB IP PBX, version 4.0, an Asterisk-based phone system designed for small to medium sized businesses. At the core of this new release is the system’s ability to be “Web-aware”, integrating with Web and back office applications. Switchvox SMB 4.0 also adds numerous unified communications capabilities, including support for fax, chat and video calling. Pricing for Switchvox SMB starts at $3,390 for a 10-user system, including hardware, software, a one-year subscription and warranty.

Microsoft has just launched Response Point SP2, the latest version of their IP-PBX. SP2 enhances the feature set by adding after-hours receptionist schedules, one-way paging, two-way intercom, and it now supports out-of-band DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency). Additionally, SP2 adds two other common phone trunk technologies: Digital trunks (T1, etc); and VoIP trunks delivered via an on-premises gateway device. The addition of digital trunks means Direct Inward Dial (DID) support as well.

Back to Top

Call Centers

Smaller contact centers looking for a Workforce Management (WFM) package may want to consider ICMI's low cost product called Easystart. There is not a sample version of Easy Start; however, you can view a detailed description of how it works, including screen shots, on ICMI's website. Larger centers may want to take a look at ICMI Bull’s-Eye Service. Easy Start is a software solution you use to get answers about the schedules that are in place today, but the Bull’s-Eye Service is more sophisticated and actually generates the forecasts and schedules for you.

Back to Top