The IT challenges community banks face
A community bank competes on relationships, and that only works when the branch is open and the systems are trustworthy. Tellers need the core, lenders need their loan systems, and business customers need online banking and treasury tools that work every morning. Wire fraud, business email compromise and ransomware aim at all of it, and examiners expect the bank to show how it manages that risk.
Security and compliance
Banks follow the interagency guidelines for information security under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and examiners from the FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve or the state review the program using the FFIEC IT Examination Handbook. They look for working controls: patching, access reviews, multi-factor authentication, encryption, logging, vendor oversight and backups that have been restored in a test.
We run those controls every day and keep the evidence, so your information security officer can walk examiners through how each one works. We do not write your risk assessment or replace your board-approved program. We make the technical controls dependable and the records easy to produce.
Software we work with
We keep the systems around your core running: teller workstations, check scanners, branch networks, Microsoft 365, lending and document systems, and secure remote access for staff. Common examples include cores such as Jack Henry SilverLake, Fiserv Premier and FIS Horizon, digital banking platforms such as Q2, Alkami and Banno, and the workstations used for FedLine and ACH origination. Each vendor supports its own platform, and we coordinate with them when a problem crosses into their product.
How we help
- Dedicated, locked-down workstations for wire and ACH work.
- Email protection and call-back rules against payment fraud.
- MFA on email, remote access and administrator accounts.
- Branch networks that keep teller traffic, guest Wi-Fi and cameras apart.
- Tested backups with copies kept off site and offline.
- Records of patching, access reviews and monitoring for examiners and your vendor file.
If customer data is exposed
Federal rules require a bank to notify its primary federal regulator of certain computer-security incidents within a short deadline, and the interagency guidelines expect a response program that includes notifying customers when their information is likely to be misused. State breach laws add their own requirements. Encryption, multi-factor authentication and good logging make an incident less likely and much easier to scope. Our guide to data breach notification laws explains the state deadlines.
Getting a quote
Every quote is written for your environment after a short call about your branches, staff, devices and the systems you rely on. Agreements are longer-term rather than month to month, which gives us time to document your systems and close security gaps properly. Request a quote.