Tech Talk: AML risk solutions, banking the unbanked, IoT and banking, and more!

• A crime fighting collaboration
• Cloud-based AML risk solution
• A tricked-up bank trojan
• Mobile apps for the underbanked
• Amazon banking for Gen Z
• Biometric tech for fraud detection
• Connecting IoT to banking
• Alexa assists Wall Street bankers
• AI for illicit activity
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches & Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

A crime fighting collaboration
Media conglomerate Thomson Reuters has teamed up with one of the world's leading CRM (customer relationship management) platforms to help clients manage the risk and complexity of onboarding new and repeat customers. The Customer Risk Screener Application will enable Salesforce users to simplify and accelerate the customer due diligence process and adhere to regulatory anti-money laundering obligations. Finextra has the details.

Cloud-based AML risk solution
Global IT consulting firm Accenture has released a cloud-based platform that is designed to help banks manage risk, particularly in the area of anti-money-laundering (AML) compliance. The Accenture Financial Crime Analytics Utility will be expanded to include data analytic operations to support other bank operations and functions, such as cybersecurity and third-party risk management, reports Finextra.

A tricked-up bank trojan
Who said you can't teach an old bank trojan new tricks? TrickBot, a notorious banking trojan that emerged in 2016 with a bullseye on major banks and other financial serve providers has been upgraded with new capabilities that not only evade detection but deploy a locking system similar to ransomware. Ranked as one of the top six banking trojans in 2017 and having targeted banks in over 40 countries, TrickBot is a threat that financial institutions across the globe should be monitoring for. Security Week has the details.

Mobile apps for the underbanked
Unbanked and underbanked consumers avoid traditional banking services for various reasons. To appeal to the underbanked market, Florida-based Axiom Bank has launched a mobile app that offers full banking capabilities from a mobile device, reports ATM Marketplace. A young entrepreneur and app developer from Mississippi has developed an online banking and financial literacy app that caters to the specific needs of the underserved market. CNN has the details.

Amazon banking for Gen Z
In the wake of reports earlier this month that Amazon may launch a branded checking account in partnership with big banks, the mega tech giant has set its sights on teenagers. Amazon is reportedly in discussions with banks to create a product aimed at teens and other younger users (Generation Z) who don't have their own credit cards or bank accounts and who prefer purchasing products online in lieu of shopping at physical retail stores. Bloomberg has the details.

Biometric tech for fraud detection
Gone are the days when thieves – the ones wearing the hats, masks or sunglasses and often holding weapons – were set apart from the customers in bank branches. The anonymity of the internet allows today's criminals to cloak themselves under the guise of a customer. Banks are increasingly met with the challenge of identifying and protecting customers (and their institution) from fraud. Biometric technology is just one of the tools that banks are using to distinguish real customers from nefarious imposters, reports Computer Business Review.

Connecting IoT to banking
One area of IT security that is falling under closer scrutiny is the internet of things (IoT) and the inherent risk of web-connected devices. IoT consists of physical devices that connect to the internet and have the ability to collect and report data. Mobey Forum has launched an IoT Expert Group to explore IoT in financial services and help banks prepare for the impact increased connectivity will have on financial operations. Finextra has the details.

Alexa assists Wall Street bankers
From Silicon Valley to households and businesses across the country, Amazon's cloud-based virtual assistant Alexa has moved to Wall Street. JPMorgan Chase has partnered with Amazon to provide its Wall Street users with the ability to access research, send reports and related queries, and other features the bank is testing. The company may even explore how a voice assistant that is always on and listening can be a useful application in cybersecurity, reports CIO Dive has the details.

AI for illicity activity
Just as the financial industry and other sectors leverage the power of technology to combat fraud, ingenious criminals find ways to exploit that same technology for their illicit gain. With the increased use of artificial (AI) intelligence and machine learning (ML) to detect fraudulent activity, criminals look for vulnerabilities in AI/ML fraud detection systems and use their own ML capabilities to deploy faster and more accurate targeted attacks. Security Week has the details and a link to a paper, published last month by scientists from leading universities, titled The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

• Threatpost: Bank crime gang leader busted
• NeworkAsia: The new frontier in cybersecurity
• CU Times: Phishing leads in data security incidents
• Security Week: Low-cost DDoS cybercrime-as-a-service
• Krebs on Security: One minor typo may lead to major spam

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current Activity
• Security Week: First OpenSSL updates in 2018 patch three flaws
• Sophos: Microsoft's Windows 7 Meltdown patch created worse flaw
• Threatpost: Cisco patches two critical RCE bugs in IOS XE software
• The Register: Running Drupal? You need to patch, patch, patch right now!

See what other current hot cyber and technology topics affecting financial institutions BOL users are discussing in the Technology Forum.

And on the lighter side...

To keep a PC running efficiently, users are often advised to peform clean-up actions on their PCs. When directing friend, family members or employees to clean up computers, you might want to ensure they know what that entails – or at the very least that they have a back-up in place.