BANK tech-trends News
 

January 25, 2010 - January 29, 2010

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

Hardware News

Dell has launched its first product with 6Gbit/s SAS drives, enclosures and RAID controllers. The new PowerVault direct-attached storage (DAS) series includes the new SAS standard which was ratified last year. The new range includes five products: three PowerEdge RAID controllers (PERC): H200, H700 and H800 and two PowerVault enclosures, the MD1200 and MD1220, for external storage expansion. The systems are flexible in that customers can use a combination of SSDs and 2.5inch drives, depending on their needs and budget.

Lockheed Martin and IronKey announced an ultra-secure USB flash drive with custom software that allows you to take an entire computer with you for secure use on any public computer. Called IronClad, the drive is available starting at 8GB capacity and offers 256-bit military-grade encryption, built-in malware protection, and a rugged water- and shock-resistant metal casing. Remote management lets you “brick,” or permanently wipe all data from, lost or stolen drives, and a managed, “white-listed” application portfolio which means no unauthorized programs or applications can be loaded into the system. 

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ATMs/Kiosks

NCR announced the sale of its 50,000th NCR SelfServ ATM. The NCR SelfServ brand was launched less than two years ago and is now in use by nearly 700 financial institutions in more than 110 countries around the world. The largest number of NCR SelfServ orders has been for multifunction units — ATMs with additional features beyond cash dispensing, including intelligent deposit.

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According to SJB Research, near field communication (NFC) will finally drive the widespread adoption of payments by mobile phones starting in 2011. "NFC technology will be used to replace everything from credit cards and loyalty cards to bus and train tickets, library cards, door keys and even cash," says Sarah Clark, author of 'NFC: The Road to Commercial Deployment.' "What hasn't yet been decided, however, is who will win the battle to provide consumers with their new hi-tech mobile wallets."

A company called Wonga has launched a mobile app that offers instant short-term loans over the iPhone to approved applicants. The London-based firm claims that the new app turns the iPhone into a "virtual cash machine" for urgent or unexpected expenses. First time consumers download the app for free and fill in a four page application form before being considered for a loan. The payday-type loans are designed as short-term cash advances up to a maximum of 31 days, with interest charged at high payday-type levels: one per cent a day. Users who accept these rates can apply for credit up to a maximum of about $1600, with funds transferred to the successful applicant's bank account within 15 minutes.

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Surprisingly, the recession has not spurred more bank robberies. In fact, the FBI says that robberies have plunged to their lowest levels in at least 10 years. The FBI reports that there were about 5,500 bank robberies in 2009, down about 18 percent from 2008.

Intelliden has released iAudit, a cloud-based application that validates device configuration against internal and vendor-defined policies. Currently available for Cisco IOS-based and Juniper JUNOS-based routers, iAudit uses vendor-set guidelines for ACL, interface, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and security best practices recommended by the National Security Agency and Defense Information Systems Agency to check compliance of network device configuration. Network managers can generate reports regarding policies, pass/fail results, description of policy checks and impact assessments - all for free.

ALWIL Software, makers of the world's most popular free antivirus program with over 100 million users, has launched new versions of its free and premium software. Together with the free version, avast! 5.0 is also introducing the new premium Internet Security suite and an update of its paid Pro Antivirus product. The new avast! Pro Antivirus 5.0 uses the same core detection engine as the free version, but with more customization options.

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Security:

Managing Risk and Security Efficiently and Affordably

Cyveillance - http://www.cyveillance.com Read James Brooks' comments: http://www.banktt.com/Cyveillance.pdf

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

Guardian Analytics - http://www.guardiananalytics.com Read Terry Austin's comments:     http://www.banktt.com/Guardian.pdf

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

Harland Financial Solutions - http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com Read Jeff Marshall's comments: http://www.banktt.com/HFS.pdf

Hyland Software - http://www.onbase.com Read Steve Comer's comments: http://www.banktt.com/Hyland.pdf

Innovative Strategic Solutions - http://www.issone.com Read Jon Rhodes' comments: http://www.banktt.com/ISS.pdf

Millennial Vision - http://www.mviusa.com Read Scott Cowan's comments: http://www.banktt.com/MVI.pdf

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

Ongoing Operations - http://www.ongoingoperations.com   Read Kirk Drake's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/OGO.pdf

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

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

Trusteer - http://www.trusteer.com   Read Rakesh Loonkar's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/Trusteer.pdf

WhiteHat Security - http://www.whitehatsec.com   Read Anurag Agarwal's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/WhiteHat.pdf

Xceedium - http://www.xceedium.com   Read Cheryl Traverse's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/Xceedium.pdf

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ProTracker Advantage is a CRM program designed by financial experts. Now ProTracker has come out with a SaaS version called ProTracker Cloud. It includes the ProTracker Advantage CRM system, Microsoft Office 2007 (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint), and Microsoft Outlook for e-mail. All of these programs come standard with ProTracker Cloud and are accessible using a Web browser. ProTracker Cloud utilizes two-factor authentication: 1) username and a strong password, plus 2) a hardware token.

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Some analysts believe that financial institutions have been systematically remiss at educating consumers (especially new and young ones) about how to recognize authentic banking emails and how to identify phishing attempts. They argue for more regular, authenticated, validated email that educates users on what to expect in emails sent to them by their bank and allowing them to more easily spot phishing emails. They want to see banks start adding SPF to their DNS and DKIM to the email headers (effectively signing the mail as authentic), and posit that these 2 technologies alone will have a significant impact on the amount of phishing email that actually gets to the inbox. Meanwhile, some critics counter that email is just too insecure and that the only secure way to deliver electronic messages to and from customers is inside online banking sessions.

The Federal Reserve Banks announced plans to conduct another series of studies to determine the current volume and composition of check and electronic payments in the United States. These studies will build on information gained from similar studies conducted by the Reserve Banks in 2001, 2004 and 2007. The three-part study, which will be conducted by McKinsey & Company, is aimed at estimating the annual number, dollar value and composition of retail noncash payments in the United States.

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ShorteTel, which provides IP telephony systems, released its latest product version with ShoreTel 10, offering extended Microsoft Exchange 2007 support including enhanced Session Initiation Protocol capabilities, T.38 fax integration and enhancements to multi-site capabilities. Also in a deal with IBM, ShoreTel’s IP phone system will be bundled with IBM’s Lotus Foundations Reach. IBM’s Foundation line is a series of appliances designed to be an IT infrastructure in a box. Within IBM’s Lotus Foundations Reach, ShoreTel will act as the IP telephony component. The box includes instant messaging, emailing and calendar capabilities.

According to the Number Resource Organization (NRO), which represents the registries that allocate Internet numbers around the world, the shortage of IPv4 addresses has reached a critical stage. They say that less than 10 percent of all IPv4 addresses remain available, threatening the future network operations of all businesses and organizations unless ISPs and businesses step up their migration to IPv6. An NRO spokesperson notes that "the deployment of IPv6 is a key infrastructure development that will enable the network to support the billions of people and devices that will connect in the coming years."

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So-called "visible queues" inform callers of their EWT (estimated wait time) at the outset, while "invisible queues" (those where the caller does not know EWT) can result in high abandon rates and caller frustration. Visible queues reduce the amount your center wastes on toll charges and free up trunk resources. These callers are also less frustrated because they haven't wasted a significant amount of time on hold, and abandon rates go down. Another alternative is a "virtual queue" system that informs callers of their EWT and then gives them options for managing their wait: hanging up and receiving a callback when it is their turn to speak with an agent; scheduling a callback for a more convenient time; or waiting on hold.

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