The Independent Bankers Assn. of Texas Helps Texas Businesses Avoid Corporate Account Takeover

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) is committed to fighting corporate account takeover, a form of corporate identify theft in which cyber thieves gain control of a business bank account by stealing user passwords and other credentials. Electronic crimes are on the rise and have resulted in significant financial harm to Texas banks and their business customers.

IBAT is a participant in the Texas Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force. This group, formed in April 2010, is comprised of a diverse group of banks, regulators and law enforcement agencies with the goal of mitigating the risk of electronic crimes.  Additionally, the task force provides education about prevention and early detection of these fraudulent acts. Most recently, the task force was instrumental in developing "Best Practices" for banks to detect and deter this growing cybercrime threat. 

The following tips from Dell SecureWorks can help owners of small and medium-sized businesses protect, detect and block malicious activity that leads to corporate account takeover.

1. Use a computer that is dedicated only to handling online banking and bill pay.   That computer or virtualized desktop would not have any other capabilities, such as sending and receiving emails or surfing the Web, since Web exploits and malicious email are two of the key malware infection vectors. 
2. Online computer users should avoid using weak or default passwords for any online site and should refrain from using the same password for multiple sites.  Use a "password manager" to put all your passwords in one database and avoid using the same password for more than one website.
3. Institute and enforce a centralized plan for keeping computer applications, operating systems and security software updated. Make sure servers and workstations are fully patched promptly and regularly.
4. Implement a robust Intrusion Prevention Solution (IPS) to defend against cyber threats. An IPS provides policies and rules to block suspicious network traffic such as Web exploit kit attacks, SQL injection attacks, and banking Trojans that infect computers and steal data that allow intruders access to your banking accounts.
5. Before clicking on links or attachments in emails, always verify that the correspondent sent you the email with the link or attachment. Hackers are known for breaking into email accounts and sending malicious links and attachments. Verify with the sender to confirm the links or attachments are safe to click or open.

About the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT)

Formed in 1974, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) represents Texas' community banks. The Austin-based group is the largest state community banking organization in the nation, with membership comprised of more than 2,000 banks and branches in 700 Texas communities. Providing safe and responsible financial services to all Texans, IBAT member bank assets range in size from $3 million to $16 billion, with combined assets statewide of $163 billion. IBAT member banks are committed to supporting and investing in their local communities. www.ibat.org

Contact: Lindsey Gehrig or Meg Meo
(512) 472-9599
[email protected] or [email protected]

SOURCE Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT)