Tech Talk: Call center prep for crisis, fintech charters challenged, mobile attacks, and more!

• Call center prep for crisis
• Fintech charters challenged
• Innovative banking trojan
• Mobile attacks target FIs
• Mobile ID verification
• SMB global payments platform
• Personal banker meetup app
• Biometric systems certification
• Enhancing the payment experience
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches & Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

Call center prep for crisis
This week businesses and financial institutions in the Southeast scrambled to prepare for Hurricane Florence – one of the first major storms of the season that is estimated to cause $50 billion to $60 billion in economic damages and meteorologists warn could be the "Harvey of the east coast." The OCC issued guidance to help banks facilitate recovery in the wake of this powerful storm. Along with many financial institutions, Wells Fargo closed 47 branches in North Carolina in preparation for Florence's projected hit to that area. In the wake of Harvey last year, banks' call centers were inundated with questions about issues, including forgotten passwords, when customers tried to access mobile banking. Arming your call center with the people, processes and technology to respond in the aftermath of a disaster is a critical component of your disaster recovery plan. Virtual Strategy has the details.

Fintech charters challenged
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) efforts to provide fintechs with national banking charters is being challenged (again) by state regulators. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has announced plans to file a second lawsuit against the OCC on grounds that the agency does not have the authority to provide charters to fintechs. The first lawsuit was filed prematurely before the OCC had committed to the charter program and was dismissed by a federal judge. Finextra has the details.

Innovative banking trojan
Despite the best efforts of financial institutions and security companies to monitor and detect banking trojans, these malicious threats continue to evolve and find innovative ways to circumvent advanced security measures. A new version of the Kronos banking trojan (an offspring of the infamous Zeus) recently resurfaced following a period of dormant activity. Dubbed Osiris, the innovative new trojan has a more sophisticated evasion technique and a modular architecture that enables criminals to implement various malicious behaviors after an initial infection. Threatpost has the details.

Mobile attacks targeting FIs
Mobile banking is becoming increasingly more popular among consumers – and cybercriminals. According to a new report released by digital identity firm ThreatMetrix, financial institutions were hit with 81 million cyber attacks in the first half of 2018. Of those, 27 million targeted mobile channels, with device spoofing (when criminals try to trick banks into thinking multiple fraudulent login attempts are taking place from new customer devices) as the top threat to financial services firms. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Mobile ID verification
The four major U.S. wireless carriers are making a play for the online ID verification market. The big four's new authentication initiative, tentatively dubbed "Project Verify," is being pitched as a way to give consumers a more streamlined method of ID verification when creating new online accounts, an alternative to passwords and one-time codes for logging in to existing accounts, and the ability to pre-populate data fields on a website, i.e., name, address, credit card number, etc. There are potential security and privacy trade-offs to consider with this proposed authentication method, reports Krebs on Security.

SMB global payments platform
To make it easier for companies to do business around the world and manage cross-border payments electronically, global payments provider Mastercard has partnered with tech giant Microsoft on a global digital trade platform. The Mastercard Track database will include information on more than 150 million companies worldwide and facilitate the connection of buyers and suppliers with networks, banks and solution providers. MarketWatch has the details.

Personal bankers meetup app
To meet new people, today's digitally-drive society turns to Tinder – a location-based social search app that allows users to like (swipe right) or dislike (swipe left) other users and allows users to chat if both parties swiped to the right (a match). Umpqua Bank has launched a similar digital offering for its customers. The Go-To app allows customers to select a personal banker based on professional background, expertise, personal interests and location, and connect to that banker via secured text and chat to resolve issues, explore financial opportunities and receive expertise. Globe Newswire has the details.

Biometric systems certification
For enhanced security, biometric technology is increasingly being used to authenticate mobile and online transactions in lieu of passwords and PINs. To ensure that biometric subcomponents meet global industry consortium FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance has launched a certification program for biometrics systems, reports ATM Marketplace.

Enhancing the payment experience
Technology has changed the way consumers interact with financial institutions and manage their finances. Today's digital consumers expect their financial providers to know them, anticipate their needs, and provide innovative solutions to meet those needs. More than just having access to the latest technology, consumers want a fast, convenient and seamless experience, particularly when it comes to mobile banking and payments. ATM Marketplace has four steps to improve consumers' payments experience.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

• Sophos: The rise of targeted ransomware
• CU Times: Mobile fraud attacks are increasing
• Sophos: Data management firm exposes 445m records
• Security Week: Apple Store apps harvest sensitive information
• Threatpost: Email fraud attacks targeting business executives on the rise

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current Activity
• InfoSecurity: Admins urged to patch four publicly disclosed bugs
• Security Week: SAP patches critical vulnerability in Business Client
• Threatpost: Adobe patches vulnerabilities in Flash Player, ColdFusion
• Threatpost: Apple yet to patch Safari browser address bar spoofing flaw
• Bleeping Computer: Microsoft September 2018 Patch Tuesday fixes 16 critical vulnerabilities

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...

The official 2017-2018 NFL season has kicked off and football fans across the nation are heading to their local stadiums to cheer on their favorite teams...and gather with friends for tailgate parties. Score big with your friends before the big game with some tailgate tech gadgets.