Business Driven Information Systems essay

Reasons why a bank would not adopt an online-transfer delay.

A 24 hour operation works wonders for a majority of the people, who finds it as an instant gratification to their getting their money whenever they need it. There are also banks that offer online-transfer delays. One such bank is Barclays. This package offers additional security to money transfer. However, there is a loss with regard to real-time responses, something that users expect when handling online transactions. For this reason, a bank may opt against adopting an online-transfer delay, and especially if their clients are very critical about efficiency and speed of money transfer (CNN/Money, 2008).

The incorporated bank of America, which also happens to be the largest online bank in the United States, has moved a notch higher, by ensuring that the 13.2 million customers who banks with the corporation online, are offered an authentication process that is strong enough to warrant their staying with the bank.

The two primary lines of security defense and why they are important to financial instruction.

Technology and people are often regarded as the two primary security defense lines. It is in no doubt that banks deal daily with money, and so all the more reason why they should go out of their way to offer the most sophisticated technology in the market, so that they are better able to keep the investments of their clients safe. In this regard, financial institutions have been ranked as the fifth heaviest spenders in terms of computer security for every one of their employees (PNC news release, 2008).

At the same time, it is important to note that a bank that is not safe may also not last long, as customers are likely to shift base to one where they can rest assured that their money is in the safest hands. In addition, it is in the best interest of banks too, that the people, in whom they invest, are in possession of the necessary technologies to ensure the security of the client’s money.

Differences between the types of security offered by the bank of America, PNC financial service group, Commerce bank and Wachovia bank.

On their part the bank of America is in the process of implementing a technology that will enable it to authorize and authenticate such forms of technologies as computer identification online. At the Commerce bank, use is made of software to detect fraud is applicable, while reviewing transactions into accounts. At PNC financial service group, bank has invested the use of security question by online bankers, with a view to verify the identity of a client (Bruene, 2007).

There is also the use of captions and self images for easier identification. On the other hand, Wachovia bank is on the process of implementing control security that will enable users to stay in charge of their individual security settings. This will include among others, the determination of transferable funds allowable. Opening an account with the bank of America would be more preferable, based on the authorization and authentication technology that they are to roll in. As such, this would ensure that the personal details are protected against unauthorized access (PNC news release, 2008).

Additional types of security recommended for implementation by banks.

Aside from the security types carried out by the above mentioned banks, it would also be prudent if such banks embarked on resistance and prevention measure, through the use of encryption of data, filtering of content, and the use of firewalls. In addition, the use of antivirus software would also greatly help in detection responses (CNN/Money, 2008).

Also, the use of such authorization and authentication tools as a voice signature, a users ID, or a smart card, would also boost the security of a bank. The optimal situation here would be the provision of a combination of the three types mentioned. This way, chances of security breaches will be thwarted to a larger degree, as so the valuable information of clients ‘details protected.

Three policies a bank should implement to help it improve information security.

By having in place a plan on information security, this would greatly assist such an organization as a bank implements its policies on security with relative ease. In this regard, policies on information security are what help to identify the required rules for information security maintenance. As such, the security plans implemented by bank should lay focus on an identification and assessment of risks posed to a client’s information (CNN/Money, 2008).

At the same time, such policies should also ensure a protection of the confidentiality and security of the information that is being protected. Finally, such a policy should also guard against unauthorized access of, and the use of the information that is protected, especially if such an unauthorized access could inconvenience or harm a customer, or even cause data interception upon transmission, and the loss of integrity of data. There is also the issue of introducing errors to the system, its corruption, and the transfer of data to another party without authority.

Monitoring policies, along with the best way for a bank to implement monitoring technologies.

There are several monitoring policies that a bank could use to undertake its monitoring technologies. As such, the activities of people working in a bank could as well be tracked through the use of several tools, all in the name of monitoring using information technology. Such tools would often include the error rate, the processed number of transactions, and the keystrokes. In addition, it is crucial that an organization formulate the monitoring policies that they deem as being right, and as such, put the monitoring policies under practice (CNN/Money, 2008).

 To this end, open communication of an organization and its employees has thus far been regarded as the best way of the said organization involving its workforce in the planning of the issue at hand. The policies of employees monitoring will thus indicate where, how and when, an organization does indeed monitor its workforce.  for this reason, it is the duty of an organization’s head of security to inform the security officers to educate the employees on the reason for their monitoring, as well as some of the unacceptable kinds of behaviors that they would be expected not to engage in. if such an activity is carried out properly, then there will be less resistance from the employees, and a reduced workload on the part of the company’s security chief.

‘References’

Bruene, J. (2007). Wachovia is developing user-managed security controls. [Online].

Retrieved October 17, 2008.

CNN/Money (2008). Bank security breach may be biggest yet. May 23, 2005. [Online]. Available at:

http://74.125.95.104/search?q=cache:ymsVJx7mIoJ:money.cnn.com/2005/05/23/news/fo

Retrieved October 17, 2008.

PNC news release (2008). ‘PNC Bank announces online security feature to further protect customers, kelp prevent fraud.’[Online]. Available at:

http://74.125.95.104/search?q=cache:RaZoibkRF90J:pnc.mediaroom.com/index.php

Retrieved October 17, 2008.