Secure Marketspace

PCI Standards

A World Without Payment Cards (and PCI Compliance)

Mike D'Agostino • September 24, 2009

Credit and debit cards are everywhere. I use mine daily, and I suspect many functioning adults in the U.S. and beyond do as well. For me, convenience is a major factor in their use - instead of carrying around wads of cash, I can carry a single piece of plastic and use it to accomplish the same goal -- buy things. ...

Multi-factor & Risk-based Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication ... or be Sued?

Mike D'Agostino • September 7, 2009

The news story going around about the couple that was granted permission to sue their bank because of lackluster security measures interests me in a few different ways.

Access Management

Obama's "Big Brother" Vision of IAM

Mike D'Agostino • June 10, 2009

So, did anyone read about the President's Cybersecurity Action Plan? I'm assuming you've read through all 10 points. You didn't stop to ponder after the first few did you? I mean, you didn't happen to stop after number 8? The one about the incident response plan?

It's Not a Matter of Trust, It's a Matter of Honesty

Mike D'Agostino • April 24, 2009

I'll admit that even though we're in the "age of digital," IPODS, Flip cams, and satellite radio, I still find some comfort in good ol' radio. I'm somewhat of a news junkie, and so naturally AM is my choice. Sure, I'll turn on the conservative guys for a few laughs every now and then, but most often I have the dial...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Electronic Voting: The Ultimate Online Banking Application

Mike D'Agostino • March 19, 2009

Every day I'm driving to or from work -- or even on the weekends - it seems like I hear about some new urgent priority that I must be aware of, whether it be the flailing economy, President Obama's directives, data breaches, or any number of other news-worthy items. But I love the news - so I don't mind!

FinancialStability.gov - From Translucent to Transparent

Mike D'Agostino • February 11, 2009

I remember when I was a child and my parents had a stand-alone shower stall. The walls and door were made of glass with a wavy contour, and they were frosted. Which means instead of being clear like a window, they added a pasty kind of blur to anything on the other side. Everyone has seen this before - you may have...

Predicting the Next Regulatory Challenge for Financial Institutions

Mike D'Agostino • December 26, 2008

Wow - we've been part of quite a bit of quick decision-making recently. Financial institutions going out of business almost overnight, trillions of dollars being offered from the U.S. government in the blink of an eye, and the largest in the industry merging with and/or acquiring peer institutions within weeks.

Access Management

How Google Will Save the Banking Industry (and the U.S. Economy)

Mike D'Agostino • October 21, 2008

Yes, yes, we all know the economy is hanging by threads right now. Banks that have been around forever are closing around us, the largest financial institutions are faltering, the stock market is down and up and down and up again, the Treasury is pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy, and we are all...

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Credit Crisis as a Segue to a New Financial Model

Mike D'Agostino • October 14, 2008

I've heard many, many comments, analyses, opinions and otherwise regarding the current economic condition of the United States. I've heard that we should blame sub-prime mortgages. I've heard greedy CEOs are to blame. I've even heard that if we (the United States) had universal healthcare, we wouldn't be in this...

Governance & Risk Management

A Love Affair with the FDIC Press Release

Mike D'Agostino • September 26, 2008

I'll admit it, I've become an FDIC press release junkie. The past few weeks, nay, the past year, have given me a steady supply of news to keep my binge going. From bank closings to statements on conservatorships, this affair has been nothing short of spectacular.

Anti-Phishing, DMARC

Did You Receive This Phishing Email?

Mike D'Agostino • September 17, 2008

You know someone. Out of millions of Merrill Lynch customers, you should know at least one. Combine Bank of America's many more millions of banking customers, and you have to know someone. I know quite a few myself. All of these people are waiting to be absorbed into what is ultimately a new regime. This state of...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

ID Theft Red Flags: The Only Compliance Initiative Your Customers Care About

Mike D'Agostino • August 29, 2008

GLBA who? Bank Secrecy what? Insider Threat?...is that something mob-related? Your customers may not even know your institution is examined for security compliance by the banking regulatory agencies, and so most likely will have never even heard about the ID Theft Red Flags Rule and the impending November 1 ...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Ouch! What If This Was Your Institution?

Mike D'Agostino • July 30, 2008

I was in shock, I could not believe such a headline made front page news on Digg.com. I didn't think anyone would believe me; I had to take a screenshot! OK, OK, I may be exaggerating a bit - however I can say that as much as I visit Digg.com, rarely do I see something that has implications to banking and...

3rd Party Risk Management

How Financial Institutions Can Leverage Modern Bank Heists

Mike D'Agostino • July 15, 2008

Whenever family or friends or otherwise ask what I do or what kind of company I work for, I always take the opportunity to start off with a question: Do you know what "information security" is? I do not expect much, as I myself could not quite give a clear definition before working in the position I hold now. No one...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Identity Theft Red Flags & What They Mean to Banking Customers

Mike D'Agostino • July 8, 2008

We are in the process of analyzing data from the Identity Theft Red Flags survey we recently administered - a survey that aims to gauge the current readiness of financial institutions as they move toward complying with new guidance from the banking agencies regarding their identity theft prevention programs. Many of...