Links in “Technology”

Based on its review of fifteen IT examinations of financial institutions, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) is recommending that the NCUA be given the authority to examine 3^rd party technology service providers. The NAFCU opposes this extended authority as unnecessary and costly for credit unions. [7/6/15]

The Government Accountability Office says bank regulators do not have standardized methods for collecting data, which limits their ability to analyze data and trends. It also finds that examiners with limited IT experience perform exams at smaller institutions. [7/6/15]

Branch transactions have declined 45% since 1992, and 15% just in the last four years. Nevertheless, industry observers suggest that branches aren't going away, but they will become decidedly different. [7/6/15]

Want to learn more about security expectations and how you can strengthen your cybersecurity? The second annual Cybersecurity Symposium will take place August 24-25, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. [6/30/15]

If so, your board isn't alone. Nearly 6 in 10 board members rate their cybersecurity practices as very effective, compared to less than 2 in 10 of the IT security people in the trenches believing this to be true. More about the gap here. [6/30/15]

Federal Reserve governor tells banks that chip-and-signature cards that U.S. banks are distributing are less secure than chip-and-PIN cards used in other parts of the world. [6/26/15]

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified several challenges facing federal agencies in addressing cybersecurity threats. Agencies often struggle to design and implement risk-based programs and do not provide adequate responses to data breaches. GAO, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget offer several initiatives to combat these trends. [6/25/15]

The FCC is taking action to protect consumers from unwarranted robocalls and spam texts. An agency proposal would exempt certain financial fraud and health care alerts, but would otherwise require prior express consumer consent for non-emergency, auto-dialed, pre-recorded or artificial voice calls to wireless phone numbers and pre-recorded telemarketing calls to residential land lines numbers. [6/24/15]

Borrowers who search such phrases as "student loan relief" are shown ads for potentially illegal schemes, such as websites that charge more than $500 in upfront fees. [6/24/15]

The CFPB has sent a letter to Google warning that debt-relief scammers may be targeting student borrowers through the company’s search engine when they search and use keywords, such as “student loan default.”  The CFPB sent similar letters to Bing, Facebook, and Yahoo. [6/23/15]