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Tech Alert Briefing for 8/17/2007

August 17, 2007
Update covering August 10 - August 16, 2007

Welcome to Tech Talk! In this week's edition of Tech Talk, BOL Guru Jeff Patterson writes about heavy consumer losses to internet fraud.


Jeff Patterson,
BOL GURUYou'll also learn about:

  • wide stock swings caused by "pump and dump" spam
  • still another Sony battery recall
  • Nokia's recall of mobile phone batteries
  • a reminder about Microsoft's August patches
  • US-CERT's latest list of security flaws

Get the details below.
Beware of Phishing and Pharming
According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, phishing attacks reached an all-time high last year. Designed specifically to educate and assist financial institutions, Harland Financial Solutions? Phishing Response Kit provides a detailed checklist and directives to help institutions respond in the event of a phishing scam. Download the complete kit here.

Consumers Lose Billions to Internet Fraud
According to Consumer Report's State of the Net survey, U.S. consumers lost $7 billion during the last two years to viruses, spyware and phishing schemes.One in four households is likely to become a victim to computer malware.Find out more in InformationWeek.

Network security isn't a humorous topic, but BOL Guru Jimmy Sawyers added humor to his "Insider Tips on Network & Internet Security" webinar with his tongue-in-cheek top ten list.

Top Ten Signs Your Network May Not be Secure

  1. Your internet content filter blocks your new online lending program as a gambling site.
  2. The janitor complains that his mop sink is too close to that "rack of blinking boxes."
  3. Your last IT audit report used the phrase "bless their hearts" thirteen times.
  4. Your security awareness program involves lots of yelling, cursing and crying.
  5. Your CFO thinks the intrusion prevention system is that wire thingy that keeps squirrels out of the bank's attic.
  6. The door to the server room is of the revolving variety.
  7. When Post-It notes run out, new hires begin to tattoo their passwords on their wrists.
  8. The new network administrator has posted your network schematic on his personal "master of the domain" website where he appears scantily clad in leather and old computer parts.
  9. You arrive at work to find Dateline NBC and 60 Minutes waiting in the lobby to interview you about the security breach.
  10. Your CEO thought your last information security risk assessment was a sudoku puzzle.



Insider Tips on Network & Internet Security



Order the CD ROM today


Get tips and suggestions in this candid and entertaining presentation of the Network and Internet Security trends impacting banks today.

Jimmy uses real world examples to help you identify and mitigate risks commonly found in IT programs and network security.

Presented from a banking perspective by a former banker and now a leading consultant to the banking industry with over 22 years of experience in banking technology.

Not on Our Laps!
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Toshiba's recall of more defective laptop batteries.As in previous recalls, these batteries were produced by Sony and pose a fire hazard.CSOOnline has additional information.

BOL Scams Index
Check back and vote this week on scams of the phishing variety. The poll, located on the BOL home page, will update with each vote throughout the week. Thanks for participating!
More Battery Woes
Nokia has offered to replace 46 million phone batteries that may overheat while charging and "pop out" of the phone.Find out more about the latest battery recall in CSOOnline.

Have You Applied These Patches?
In a busy patch week for system administrators, Microsoft released nine patches to address fourteen vulnerabilities in its software products.Six of the patches are rated Critical.

117 Security Gaps Make US-CERT List
The US-CERT Vulnerability Summary for the Week of August 6, 2007 lists forty-two High, sixty-nine Medium and six Low severity vulnerabilities. Weaknesses were listed in Apache Tomcat; Cisco IOS; IBM AIX; Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player; Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird; Open Office; Panda Antivirus; Symantec Norton Antivirus; and the Linux kernel.

A Genuine iPhone Giveaway
Get details of BOL Learning Connect's iPhone Giveaway. If you don't want batteries bursting into flames on your lap, you need an iPhone. It's not too late to enter!


P.S. from the BOL Team:Don't wait until that panicked moment that occurs when you learn your institution's name is being used as the hook in a phishing scam.Be prepared.Download the free financial institution phishing attack response kit from Harland Financial Solutions.See the link above.


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First published on 08/16/2007

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