Page 7 - The Agency Insider

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Hunting Season Opens on Cyber Criminals

Linda McGlasson • October 22, 2008

I just have to chuckle sometimes when I read headlines like the one that appeared recently - 'Dark Market' Takedown: Exclusive Cyber Club for Crooks Exposed. It seems that the FBI is getting pretty clever at "blending" into the cyber criminal world. A tip of the hat goes to Shawn Henry, the FBI Cyber Division...

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Foreclosure: Sometimes Risk Management Truly is a Matter of Life or Death

Linda McGlasson • October 8, 2008

The sad scenario plays out on the news on a regular basis these days. A homeowner facing foreclosure is barricaded inside their home as law enforcement comes to serve the papers. Shots ring out, and officers rush in to find the wounded homeowner. What happened last Friday with Addie Polk of Akron, Ohio, a...

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Risk Management: Your Role Model is on Main Street, not Wall Street

Linda McGlasson • September 30, 2008

It used to be the mantra - "Bigger is Better" was the one thing that made sense when it came to risk management models. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley's conversion into bank holding companies, allowing them to buy other retail banks and more readily borrow money from the Federal Reserve Bank, means that long-chanted...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Presidential Politics: 'Passwordgate' More Distressing Than Troopergate

Linda McGlasson • September 19, 2008

I have issues with weak passwords and easy to guess answers for challenge questions on password resets. This was Sarah Palin's (Republican vice presidential candidate)apparent problem with her personal Yahoo! email account. It only took a Google search and some thought on a young hacker's part to find out the...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Smart Bankers Avoid Mortgage Fraud

Linda McGlasson • September 12, 2008

I can't say enough about the mud slinging and finger pointing being done during the continuing mortgage crisis. It is getting ugly out there. Even the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now under the watchful conservatorship eye of the federal regulators, as the mortgage foreclosures top...

3rd Party Risk Management

On Identity Theft and Breaking the Wrong Record

Linda McGlasson • September 2, 2008

Everyone was watching the Olympics this past month and saw lots of records being broken. But there is one record no one want to be included in -- the record number of 449 data breaches that have happened (and been made public) and recorded by the Identity Theft Resource Center. Unfortunately for some unlucky...

Access Management

Countrywide and Solving the Insider Threat

Linda McGlasson • August 20, 2008

Maybe the Countrywide television ads that constantly run on cable news shows I watch on weekends will now tout, "Finance your mortgage with Countrywide, and have your identity stolen at the same time for mere pennies." The recent arrest of a former Countrywide employee in the insider identity theft case, where an...

GLBA

GLBA and Security Avoidance Questions - Why Are We Not Surprised?

Linda McGlasson • August 1, 2008

Last month I wrote several articles on GLBA compliance, and I asked several people I know who are fluent in these issues what are some of the most common questions they face on GLBA as a security manager or assessor at the institutions they either work at or are assessing?

Governance & Risk Management

Train Conductor Chuck Pushed Throttle on IndyMac

Linda McGlasson • July 18, 2008

Some U.S. senators don't just want to make the news, they want to be front and center in the headlines. Charles Schumer, U.S. Senator from New York, is the latest headline maker. Chuck Schumer's letters in late June to banking agencies inquiring about the stability and strength of IndyMac bank -- prior to the...

Cloud Data Security & Resilience

A Breach to Remember - What Banks Have in Common with Titanic

Linda McGlasson • July 14, 2008

Just the other night, I was watching the 1958 classic movie about the sinking of the Titanic. You know, the one that told the straight story before Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's steamy romantic version?

Governance & Risk Management

Security Enforcement: The Threat of a Pop Quiz Works Every Time

Linda McGlasson • July 9, 2008

Remember when you were in school and you hadn't read the chapter like your American history teacher had instructed your class to do on Friday afternoon right before the last bell? It was springtime; who was paying attention to their school work? Who thought there might be a pop quiz on Monday afternoon? Now, here...

Access Management

Anatomy of a Penetration Test

Linda McGlasson • July 1, 2008

I was talking the other day with a friend who works at an information security risk company. He shared with me the higher-level details of a physical penetration test on which he tagged along.

3rd Party Risk Management

The Great Circle of Compliance - Be the Hunter or the Hunted

Linda McGlasson • June 25, 2008

Life on the Great Plains for many nomadic Indian tribes was built around the buffalo. The tribes followed the herds of great shaggy beasts across the rolling hills of tall grass, their entire lifecycle centered on the buffalo herd. Braves honed their lance and bow and arrow skills with hours of practice. A common...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Do You Know Where Your Backup Tape is Today?

Linda McGlasson • May 28, 2008

The public service announcement used to appear on television screens every night, it seemed, when I was growing up. The announcer would speak in a deep voice, "IT'S 10 p.m., do YOU know where YOUR CHILDREN ARE?" Looking around, my parents would sigh a deep breath of relief, knowing that we children were either in our...

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

When is a Customer Too Much of a Security Risk?

Linda McGlasson • May 14, 2008

It's not always easy to decide to stop doing business with a person or entity. In fact, it might be a decision that many bankers aren't willing to face. However, when an institution sees a growing amount of fraud losses on a customer's online banking account due to their negligence,