Prepping for Prime Time, Bank Systems & Technology
What will be some of the transformative technologies in banking in 2006 and beyond? Experts give their take on what may be some of the most pivotal disruptions to the banking industry.

'Electronic Discovery' Industry Blooming, Technology News
Several factors -- including inexpensive data storage, high-profile lawsuits and strict new laws that demand thorough corporate archiving -- are making electronic discovery a lucrative and competitive slice of information technology.

10 Tips For Protecting Sensitive Enterprise Data, Bank Systems & Technology
As legislation to provide a national law to protect identity and data moves forward, security experts recommend these top 10 data/identity protection factors for systems managers.

Dell CIO urges other CIOs to focus on innovation, TechRepublic
Dell CIO, Randy Mott, calls for IT organizations to better prepare for the future and not be satisfied with maintaining the status quo.

Are you the best IT leader you can be? vnunet.com
Being an IT-focused CIO is no longer sufficient, the perfect CIO must now be business-savvy too.

Is outsourcing being replaced by an in-sourcing trend in financial services IT? TechRepublic
Recently, high-profile outsourcing deals in the financial services industry have fallen apart or been canceled. Is the shift toward in-sourcing signaling an end to outsourcing?

BITS Offers Outsourcing Report Card, Bank Technology News
A BITS-led consortium of banks and service providers is launching a program this month that aims to create standardized IT outsourcer risk-management assessments to aid banks in shopping for vendors.

Battling the bean counters--and winning, TechRepublic
If you want the CFO to approve your IT proposal, you have to show how your technology investment is going to help the company move forward.

2006 Shaping Up As A Good Year For Security Vendors, Bank Systems & Technology
Thanks to government-compliance regulations and increasingly sophisticated identity thieves, 2006 should be a good year for security solution providers and vendors.

Automate the software management and upgrade process, TechRepublic
Deploying, updating and upgrading applications throughout your network takes more time as your organization grows. Fortunately, there are many options for automating the process.

External quality assessment every five years, CFO.com
In order to claim their practices are in line with IIA standards, internal auditors will have to undergo an external quality assessment of their work every five years.

Accume Partners Announces Services to Help Internal Audit Functions Meet IIA Standards, BUSINESS WIRE
Accume Partners provides Quality Assessment Review (QAR) and Validation services to help companies with internal audit functions comply with the Institute of Internal Auditors Standard 1312 by the January 2007 deadline.

Will GLBA Soon Require Strong Authentication? BankInfoSecurity.com
The FDIC issued a guidance letter on October 12, 2005 and expects compliance by year’s end 2006. This means that financial institutions are going to have to revamp their current authentication schemes and move towards multiple-factor authentication methods.

The Devil in the Details: Complying With the PATRIOT Act, Bank Systems & Technology
Financial institutions opening correspondent or private banking accounts will have to do their homework to identify the account owners, determine whether any are "senior foreign political figures" and to ensure that account activity matches up with the purpose and expected uses of the account.

Unsafe and Unsound Use of Limitation of Liability Provisions, FDIC
The federal financial institution regulatory agencies have issued the final interagency advisory on use of limitation of liability provisions in external audit engagement letters; and inclusion of these provisions in engagement letters and other agreements that are inconsistent with the final advisory will generally be considered an unsafe and unsound practice.

ATM Theft On The Rise, BankNet 360
Bank fraud related to checking and savings accounts was the No. 3 identity theft complaint last year as thieves are increasingly targeting ATMs and checking accounts due to increased credit card company security measures and because checking accounts have comparatively lower fraud-detection capabilities.

U.S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment, FDIC
The Department of the Treasury released the 2005 U.S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment – the work of an interagency group that studies and combats money laundering -- in an effort to promote better understanding of money laundering in the U.S. and to support efforts to combat it.

Managing E-mail Security, TechRepublic
Recent legislation has driven major changes in organizational systems, processes, and security. This white paper addresses general and industry-specific regulations and how they impact an organization's e-mail system.

Don't Be an On-line Victim: How to Guard Against Internet Thieves and Electronic Scams, FDIC
The FDIC has produced a comprehensive presentation to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft.  Financial institutions are encouraged to make the link available to their customers from their web sites.

The evolution of spam from annoyance to serious crime, TechRepublic
Spam can have serious repercussions for businesses, and financial institutions are particularly vulnerable to the variety of spam that helps feed identity theft and fraud.

If risk management is the new religion, Enterprise Risk Management is its mantra, ABA Banking Online
Banks have always been in the business of risk management, but ERM is more than a defense against loss. The bank with the right models, data retrieval and IT can develop ERM into a formidable offensive weapon.

CFOs at Work, Viewing Business Strategies Through a Finance Lens,  RiskCenter
Finance executives play an ever increasing role in determining the larger strategy for their companies. At the same time, they continue to face mounting pressure from new regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, to maintain a tight grip on controls.

Enron, Andersen, and the Risks of Risk Management, BankNet 360
Just as Sarbanes-Oxley addressed the structure problems of how auditors are hired and to whom they answer, risk management requires similar consideration and a similar solution.

Create a scalable, portable business strategy, TechRepublic
A portable business strategy is a contingency plan for operating your business from an alternate location.  This article looks at some scalable strategies you can use to develop a plan for making your business more portable.

Personnel Profiles for Information Security Positions in Banks, BankInfoSecurity
Recent changes in trends and needs in banking information security have created new roles. Suggestions are given to help HR departments identify qualified information security candidates for new and traditional roles.

68% of Employees Engage In Risky E-Mail Practices, BankInfoSecurity
A survey examined the e-mail habits of over 1,000 individuals and uncovered a number of issues that raise concerns for businesses – both in the way employees are using and storing their corporate e-mail.

When Insider Threats Meet Sarbanes-Oxley, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal
Organizations that take an integrated approach to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and insider threats will achieve a stronger overall security posture and can better address both audit and security points.

You Can Be Too Careful, Reason
Critics in academia, journalism—and many from the corporate world itself, reluctant to talk on the record and thereby show “bad faith”—have many complaints about SOX.

Even Small Fry Might Want to Comply, US News & World Report
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of CEOs of fast-growing private companies found that 27 percent are adopting Sarbanes-Oxley practices. For any entrepreneur looking to cash out someday, this might be a wise move.

Coping with Compliance: Sarbanes-Oxley and the IT Infrastructure, DMReview.com
Many companies are splitting the compliance effort between a regional accounting firm for financial compliance and an IT consulting firm well-versed in COBIT and remediation of the IT infrastructure for the IT foundation.

U.S. audit watchdog stresses accountability to SEC, Reuters.com
A lawsuit filed by conservative policy activists argues that the PCAOB violates separation of powers principles as a semi-government agency lacking proper checks and balances and that the board is unconstitutional.

SOX and Business Model Innovation Part 3, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal
This installment of a three-part series on the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley addresses compliance issues specific to licensing, subscription, and utility revenue streams.