Shane Butcher is a security guru at CUSO Ongoing Operations and lately has been busy helping numerous credit unions safely transition their employees to working from home.
The good news: credit unions that approach this methodically, carefully will probably be able to mitigate risks.
The bad news: credit unions that rush into this, haphazardly, with inadequate employee training may not.
One key: stress to employees working from home that they need to practice the very same security awareness as they do in the office. No shortcuts.
Butcher also warned that very probably cyber criminals are preparing to attempt to feast on remote credit union workers. The risks are real.
Note, too, that Butcher’s OGO experience entails working with credit unions with assets under $100 million to ones with substantially over $1 billion. It’s a diverse customer mix but that gives him perspective on what is realistic, what is needed, what can happen.
“A lot of our customers are asking for help getting their remote workers online.”
His three word cure for a lot of today’s credit union security worries: training, training, training.
Butcher has significant concerns about BYOD access to the institution’s network – listen up find out why. But it starts with this: “we don’t know what’s on home devices” and that can range from malware to spyware to worse.
Hear the companion podcast on credit union remote workers with Kevin Langford of Georgetown Kraft Credit Union in South Carolina here.
Suddenly credit unions across the nation are ordering employees home, as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. And that is triggering a tidal wave of worries about the possible cyber insecurities that will result as newly empowered employees log into the credit union networks.
Hitherto, at many credit unions, the workers who had home access to the network were mainly senior, experienced, and both well trained and well equipped.
Today’s newly drafted home workers often lack the right equipment and their training may have been brisk.
Global cyber criminals are said to be eyeing these workers the way a hungry lioness eyes a slow wildebeest in the Serengeti.
That’s why you want to hear from Kevin Langford, chief information officer at $140 million Georgetown Kraft Credit Union in South Carolina.
Langford has trained many workers in the secrets of safe cyber work at home and here he tells what every credit union needs to be doing.
This topic is so big that next week we will post another podcast on the same theme with Shane Butcher, senior solutions and security architect at CUSO Ongoing Operations.
You need to listen to both. The risks are extraordinary today and here are solid suggestions for navigating turbulence securely.
The UPS scam info is here.
The dropped USB drive info is here.
The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has officially been labeled a pandemic by the WHO. As cases spread throughout the U.S., many companies are reviewing their policies, processes, and procedures to slow the spread of the virus. Many aspects of life are changing. People are working remotely, others are laid off or furloughed, all events are canceled or postponed, and more than a few people decided that now is the time to buy a year’s supply of toilet paper.
But there is cause for all these precautions. The coronavirus is more virulent and contagious than the common flu, and 40–70% of the world is projected to become infected. Many industries are already seeing major losses of income, including those in performance, sports, the service industry, and anybody connected with travel and tourism.
In times like these, credit unions can step up for their members while also keeping themselves safe. Here are a few Coronavirus safety and prevention tips for credit unions.
Continue reading “Coronavirus Safety Tips for Credit Unions” →
It’s CU 2.0 Fintech Friday! Today, Chris Otey sits down with Vasilios Roussos from the DCU Fintech Innovation Center to discuss some of the latest updates from the fintechs in their cohort. The DCU Fintech Innovation Center is an accelerator for new fintechs in the Boston area, and they are one of the main sources for companies we feature in Fintech Friday.
The DCU Fintech Innovation Center fintechs develop and grow. They provide the space and resources that new fintechs need to incubate and accelerate. (They do their best to avoid digital distractions for your credit union’s CEO!)
Continue reading “CU 2.0 Fintech Friday: The DCU Fintech Innovation Center” →
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is escalating pretty quickly, both nationally and abroad. Between Ongoing Operations and CU 2.0, we’re seeing the challenges that credit unions are facing—and we’re getting ideas about how to fix them.
Now that COVID-19 is officially a global pandemic, businesses and entire industries are taking precautions. Schools are closed, events are canceled, and some cities are even enforcing lockdowns. Credit unions are also feeling the pressure.
Continue reading “Ten New Ideas to Help Your Credit Union Handle COVID-19” →