THE SLOPPY SECURITY TEST -- A Quick Primer for Bank Executives

Overview:

“C Suite” executives – please take note. Do yourself a huge favor; get a trusted industry source to research your internal and cybersecurity protocols beyond a core processor’s provisioning. End Point Workstations and Peripherals as well as End Users and their “Behaviors” need attention these days.

We have seen it happen way too often -- System Administrators get lazy – they take short cuts. Workloads backup, users are promised updates, but schedules get broken. It is a never-ending battle for an overworked IT department to meet HR training and technical support needs of a growing financial institution. We know something about “growing pains” … we see it a lot with Credit Unions and Community Banking clients all over the country.

Example: Here is the sloppy way – Install software modules on a server and give everyone System Level Master Access. It is easy to provision and gets stuff operational in a hurry -- but NOT a good idea – and very short sighted!

Impact: You expose your most important high balance check user clients to the very real risk of identity theft (at minimum) and worse if a disgruntled and dishonest staff member perpetrates the fraud. Don’t let yourself be fooled (or talked out of) tight security for every single system. Even family members and trusted friends can fall victim to temptation, human nature being what it is.

Solution:

1. Always be sure to use unique login passwords for each user to your system and utilize a password generator whenever possible. This way you can create strong encrypted passwords that will be difficult to crack.
2. Software Asset Management (SAM) -- These programs are readily available to automate compliance with the terms and conditions for each specific vendor license agreement. An effective installed SAM package is an essential tool for minimizing liabilities associated with software piracy litigation. Every commercial and non-profit enterprise would be well served to add a SAM program to their system and to insist on its upkeep and maintenance.

Here are two of the top Open Source SAM Software Solutions:

#1 OpenMAINT

OpenMAINT is a free and open source asset tracking software specially designed for tracking and managing movable assets, buildings, installations, and maintenance activities. It helps the managing authority to organize and update the data related to the company assets and inventory. Web Site: https://www.openmaint.org/en

#4 AssetTiger (Free and Cloud-Based)

AssetTiger is a well-featured asset management software that can be accessed through the web, mobile phone, or tablet. The best thing about this asset management tool is that you can track your assets at any time from anywhere. You can even categorize your assets, which simplifies the job of tracking and managing the assets. Using its pre-set options, you can customize the software as per your business requirements.

Web Site: https://www.myassettag.com/assettiger/