Your source for the latest technology information of interest to community banks across America.
Subscribe to our weekly e-mail newsletter and/or our monthly newsletter and stay on top of the latest technology trends in Hardware, Software, ATMs, Biometrics, Wireless, Online Banking, Marketing, Security, Internet Access and Call Centers.
Samsung’s New 870 Evo SSD Brings Faster Speeds, Lower Prices
Samsung’s new 860 SSD is apparently so fast that it can actually reach the maximum possible speed for sequential read and write on a SATA drive, with 560MB/s read and 530MB/s write speeds. The 870 Evo will be available in 250GB for $39, 500GB for $69, 1TB for $129, 2TB for $249, and 4TB for $479, with all featuring a five-year warranty.
Cisco Adds 5G Option to Catalyst Router Portfolio
Cisco unveiled a new crop of Catalyst routers alongside its promised 5G cellular gateway. They have introduced four new appliances to the Catalyst 8000-series edge platform, which encompass routing, SD-WAN, security, compute and other functionality through the use of virtual network function (VNFs).
~~~
Varonis Announces New Features to Secure Microsoft 365
Varonis announced new features for the Varonis Data Security Platform that they say will help organizations visualize and reduce sensitive data exposure created as a byproduct of increased collaboration across Microsoft 365, including Teams. For example, there are new dashboard modules that show where collaboration links, public sites, and permissions creep expose information to too many employees. Plus they have added new threat models for Azure AD that can help thwart attacks against customers' Microsoft 365 environments.
Microsoft Releases Application Guard for Office to M365 Customers
Microsoft just released Application Guard for Office, a defensive technology that quarantines untrusted Office documents so attack code embedded in malicious files can't reach the operating system or its applications. Here is how it works: When you've enabled Application Guard and a user opens a file from a potentially unsafe location, Office opens the file in Application Guard; a secured, Hyper-V-enabled container isolated from the rest of a user's data through hardware-based virtualization.
~~~
Thieves Target ATMs Flush with Cash During Covid-19
Attempts to break into ATMs and steal cash more than doubled in the U.S. last year, as some criminals took advantage of civil unrest in cities and others targeted the larger-than-usual amounts of cash stocked in machines when FIs closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, ATM security companies said. For example, attempts to break into ATMs jumped about 150% from 2019 to 2020 at ATMs protected by 3SI Security Systems. Meanwhile, ATM thefts increased more than 50% in 2018 and 2019, based on surveys by the ATM Industry Association. The trade group said it didn’t do a 2020 survey due to the pandemic.
~~~
Xiaomi Says Its ‘Air Charge’ Technology Works over Several Feet
Xiaomi has announced “Mi Air Charge Technology,” a wireless charging system that the company claims is able to charge devices “within a radius of several meters.” Multiple devices can be charged at 5W at the same time, according to Xiaomi, and physical obstacles apparently don’t reduce charging efficiency.
Mastercard Unveils 'Enhanced Contactless' Tech for the Quantum World
Mastercard announced that it is applying the latest quantum-resistant technologies to develop the next generation of contactless payments. Mastercard said that their solution dubbed Ecos works behind the scenes and is delivered via a software upgrade, therefore no new hardware or terminals are required. They claim that Ecos leverages new, quantum-resistant technology to deliver next-generation algorithms and cryptographic key strengths while keeping the contactless interaction under half a second.
~~~
Isolation-Based Security Technologies Are Gaining Prominence
Some security experts believe that remote browser isolation (RBI) will prove its value as a critical must-have enterprise technology in 2021. With a greater reliance on cloud applications as employees work from any location, the browser will become a more critical endpoint through which ransomware and other malware attacks are carried out. This means that many security teams will need to make securing the browser a top priority in the coming year.
~~~
11 Email Design Trends to Improve Your Email Marketing Strategy in 2021
The team from Uplers shared their top 11 email design trends for 2021 in this article's infographic: 1) Bid on Bold Typography; 2) Embrace the Dawn of Dark Mode; 3) Upgrade your email designs with Gradients; 4) Let your emails emote with Emotional Design; 5) Bring freshness in emails with Neumorphism; 6) Test Textured illustrations for 2D Images; 7) Add a new dimension to your emails with 3-Dimensional Images; 8) Phase in Phantasmagoric Collage; 9) Give voice to your email with Muted Colors; 10) Try out the marvel of Monochrome Layout; and 11) Spruce up your emails with Illustrated Animations.
~~~
Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
FIs Work to Streamline Links to Fintech Apps
The Clearing House Payments is piloting a solution designed to facilitate open banking called the “Streamlined Data Sharing Risk Assessment." The key to the new approach is a common questionnaire that all participating FIs agree to accept from each data network or financial-app developer.
Microsoft: Our Free Tool Helps to Improve Your Websites
delete
Legally Speaking, Is Digital Money Really Money?
Close to 80 percent of the world’s central banks are either not allowed to issue a digital currency under their existing laws, or the legal framework is not clear, according to research conducted by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF paper reviewed the central bank laws of 174 IMF members, and found out that only about 40 are legally allowed to issue digital currencies. At 104 central banks, the law only authorizes the issuance of banknotes and coins.
~~~
TetherView Launches Digital Bunker to Secure Private Clouds
TetherView announced the launch of Digital Bunker, a one-way-in and one-way-out private cloud solution. They claim that the Digital Bunker is the only Private Cloud solution that is Soc 2 Type 2 certified out of the box, offering companies a complete and easy path to compliance.
Verizon Business Serves up New Bundle for Small Businesses
Verizon Business announced a new bundle for small businesses that includes security, broadband and LTE services: the Complete Business Bundle. With the new offering, small businesses get a 15% discount on monthly service charges with the 50 Mbps tier. LTE Business Internet, which also includes a router as part of the bundle, allows businesses to connect to 4G LTE with a plug-and-play install without the need for a truck roll.
~~~
The Pandemic Has Readied the Runway for Chat Banking’s Takeoff
With chat banking, people turn to their favorite chat apps—like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger—to complete routine banking tasks. Chat banking first arrived in emerging markets, where many consumers are mobile-only and mobile-first digital experiences are the priority. The author argues that chat banking overcomes app fatigue by opening a digital banking channel within apps that billions of people already use every day.
~~~