Tips for Tech

Tech Talk: Cyber awareness and cyber defense, threat detection, wearable ATM access, and more!

Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.
Cyber defense and response bills
Threat detection tool for banks
The FDIC on financial innovation
Wearable ATM access
Fintech-as-a-service APIs
Fintech startup takes on biz banking
In-app global money transfers
Password-obviating tech
Spam, Scams & Breaches
Updates, Patches & Alerts
and on the lighter side...

Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.
In 2004 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Cyber Security Alliance designated October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) to create awareness of the nefarious threats online and to empower consumers and businesses with the resources to protect themselves and their assets. The theme for this year's 16th annual NCSAM is "Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT" – "IT" being Information Technology. During NCASM, financial institutions are encouraged to share information and resources with their employees and customers to encourage personal accountability, proactive behavior in protecting data, and security best practices that can help mitigate cyber threats and vulnerabilities that are inherent in the IT they use every day. PR Newswire has more details and links to resources you can use for training staff and educating consumers.

Cyber defense and response bills
In response to mounting cyberattacks targeting government agencies and private sector entities, lawmakers are taking proactive measures to help organizations combat and recover from cyber incidents. The U.S. Senate has approved new legislation that would give the DHS authority to create specially trained incident response and cyber hunt teams. The DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act would provide organizations with access to these teams to help strengthen their cyber defenses or respond to a targeted attack. Another bill has been introduced in the House, the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Remediation Act, that would give DHS the authority to identify, develop and disseminate actionable protocols to mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities. SC Magazine has the details.

Threat detection tool for banks
Financial services firms are targeted by cyberattacks more than organizations in any other industry. To help financial institutions and payment card issuers proactively identify potential vulnerabilities in payment authorization systems, Mastercard has launched a new threat detection tool. The global payment provider's Threat Scan service assesses potential fraud exposure by simulating attacks and revealing security weaknesses that leave systems vulnerable to attack, reports Finextra.

The FDIC on financial innovation
At a conference on the future of banking held at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis this week, FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams, who created the FDIC Tech Lab, spoke about fintech innovation and the responsibilities regulators have to foster the collaboration of banks and fintech firms. McWilliams went as far as to say that the survival of community banks depends on their ability to successfully collaborate with fintechs to stay relevant in the increasingly competitive marketplace. Banking Dive has the details and a link to the chairman's speech.

Wearable ATM access
The wearable devices market has experienced exponential growth. With the convergence of fitness devices and their enhanced connectivity with smartphones, these devices do more than just track heart rate or steps taken. They have evolved into wrist-mounted wearable computers. Banks are increasingly leveraging the convenience of wearable tech to appeal to those who want to access their finances without carrying a wallet or a card. In partnership with Mastercard and Bulgaria's FiBank, GarminPay has taken steps to remove even the need for a smartphone when conducting transactions at ATMs and POS terminals. ATM Marketplace has the details.

Fintech-as-a-Service APIs
To accelerate innovation for financial institutions and give fintechs access to a global marketplace, fintech firm Finastra launched its FusionFabric.cloud platform last year. The fintech-as-a-service enables financial firms to create and deploy applications on top of their core systems and/or collaborate with fintechs to build and access new solutions through Open APIs. Finastra has announced the launch of two new applications built on the platform in collaboration with financial institutions, reports Finextra. Rapyd, another fintech-as-a-service provider, has raised additional funding for its platform that enables businesses to implement payments and other services via a single API. TechCrunch has the details.

Fintech startup takes on biz banking
A Silicon Valley startup has set its sights on the business banking market. Fintech startup Brex is launching a business cash management account the firm says is designed to replace and improve the functionality of traditional bank accounts. Code-named "Gemini" but known publicly as Brex Cash, the account will be integrated with the Brex Card, a corporate card for startups launched last year, and will provide businesses with an all-in-one dashboard to process transfers and payments, reports PYMNTS.com.

In-app global money transfers
Once billed as the Robinhood-like rival to banks, London-based online money transfer service TransferWise is joining the growing number of U.K. financial firms who are branching out to the U.S. banking market. The fintech's API will enable U.S. consumers to initiate global money transfers to more than 70 countries in 40 currencies directly from their financial institution's mobile app, reports Banking Dive. The U.S. division of electronics giant Samsung has teamed up with U.K. fintech firm Finablr PLC on a money transfer feature that enables consumers to make cross-border fund transfers directly from the Samsung Pay app. Marketwatch has the details.

Password-obviating tech
A New York-based startup whose name was derived from an allusion to "hypercards" – virtual business cards featured the 1992 sci-fi novel of Snow Crash – has raised funding for its technology designed to replace passwords and PINs. Similar to public key encryption used in smart cards, HYPR stores private cryptographic keys (secret strings of numbers and letters that uniquely identify an individual) on mobile devices that enable users to login to sites with the simple tap of a button. Mastercard has contributed to the latest round of funding for the technology that a Florida-based bank says has brought their security posture to the next level in the area of user access controls. Fortune has the details.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

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...

Sometimes technology has a mind of its own. Check out what happened when a robot vacuum owner filmed two robot vacuums that had been programmed to clean his floors while he slept.

First published on 10/04/2019

Briefing type:

Tech Talk

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