Content by Tom Field

GLBA Compliance: Trends to Watch, Traps to Avoid

Tom Field  •  August 18, 2008

Gramm-Leach-Bliley - it's at the heart of every financial institution's security program. In this exclusive interview, Nathan Johns, formerly of the FDIC, discusses current GLBA compliance trends, including: Where institutions are most challenged to meet compliance; Where they are seeing successes; Vendor...

Lessons Learned from TJX

Tom Field  •  August 18, 2008

In the wake of the arrests of 11 hackers tied to the TJX data breach, security experts everywhere are warning of bigger, bolder threats to come. So, what should banking institutions have learned from TJX-style breaches, and what can they do now to protect their customers and critical financial/informational...

Lessons Learned from TJX: Eric Fiterman, Cyber Crime Expert

Tom Field  •  August 13, 2008

Interview with Cyber Crime Expert Eric Fiterman In the wake of the arrests of 11 hackers tied to the TJX data breach, security experts everywhere are warning of bigger, bolder threats to come. So, what should banking institutions have learned from TJX-style breaches, and what can they do now to protect their...

Application Security Whitelisting: Keep the Bad Guys Out - Let the Good Guys In

Tom Field  •  August 13, 2008

Interview with Brent Rickles, SVP, First National Bank of Bosque County, on Securing Financial Data and Systems Through Application Whitelisting "Whitelisting" is a new twist on information security. Instead of trying to find a software solution that keeps all of the potential bad guys out of your systems,...

Too-Easy Authentication?

Tom Field  •  August 4, 2008

At first, I thought my bank was pretty sharp. About a year ago, when I logged in to do some routine internet banking - check balances, transfer some funds - I was met by a new security page that wanted to better protect my assets.

GLBA Wrap-up: Put a Positive Spin on Compliance Efforts

Tom Field  •  August 4, 2008

In a month of bad news for banking (see recent stories about IndyMac Bank and other failures), our recent series of articles and insights on Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) compliance delivers a reassuring message: Banking institutions are making progress in safeguarding customer information. A "progressive learning...

Survey Analysis: Is Red Flags Rule the Key to Rebuilding Customer Confidence?

Tom Field  •  July 30, 2008

Only half of U.S. banking institutions will beat the Nov. 1 deadline for compliance with the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule. This is the key finding of this survey aimed at gauging the success of institutions' efforts to meet the terms of the new regulatory mandate. The survey, administered electronically in June,...

Identity Theft Red Flags Rule: A Chance to Take a Stand

Tom Field  •  July 29, 2008

I've told this story before about Michael Barrett, CISO of PayPal. When he joined the company, he asked how senior leaders were fighting the phishing problem. "Technically, we don't have a phishing problem," he was told.

'Confidence' is the Key Word in the Wake of Bank Closings

Tom Field  •  July 25, 2008

Want a fun exercise? Go to Google News and type in "banks, confidence" - see what results you get. These words are top-of-mind for all of us, of course, in the wake of the IndyMac Bank failure . Customer confidence is almost like the stock market - on a daily basis, we wonder whether it's up or down. Even...

Banking Regulators on Identity Theft Red Flags Rule Compliance

Tom Field  •  July 24, 2008

In conjunction with the recent Identity Theft Red Flags Rule Roundtable webinar, we conducted an interview session with William Henley of OTS and Jeff Kopchik of FDIC. Topics ranged from: What should institutions expect on Nov. 1? What have been the biggest compliance challenges? What should institutions pay...

Time to Start Thinking About the State of Banking Information Security 2009

Tom Field  •  July 17, 2008

Talk about a harmonic convergence. Just as the major banking regulatory agencies went before the Senate committee recently to deliver their "State of the Banking Industry" addresses, I was sitting back and starting to think about drafting the questions for our next State of Banking Information Security survey.

GLBA Compliance: Trends to Watch, Traps to Avoid

Tom Field  •  July 16, 2008

Interview with Nathan Johns of Crowe Chizek and Company Gramm-Leach-Bliley - it's at the heart of every financial institution's security program. In this exclusive interview, Nathan Johns, formerly of the FDIC, discusses current GLBA compliance trends, including: Where institutions are most challenged to meet...

Banking Regulators on Identity Theft Red Flags Rule Compliance

Tom Field  •  July 16, 2008

Excerpt of a Q&A with William Henley of OTS and Jeff Kopchik of FDIC In conjunction with the recent Identity Theft Red Flags Rule Roundtable webinar, we conducted an interview session with William Henley of OTS and Jeff Kopchik of FDIC. Topics ranged from: What should institutions expect on Nov. 1? What have...

ID Theft Red Flags, Business Continuity, Vendor Management - Which is Your Biggest Regulatory Challenge?

Tom Field  •  July 10, 2008

Early this year, I caught up with Steve Katz, the dean of banking CSO's (see Stephen Katz on Top InfoSec Issues of 2008), and he had some interesting insights on the year's top challenges for banking institutions.

Which Comes First - the Banker or the Security Professional?

Tom Field  •  July 2, 2008

Say, you need to hire your next CISO. Do you hire a security executive who can learn banking, or a banking executive who can pick up the necessary security skills?