Detecting and Preventing Financial Fraud: Safeguarding Credit Unions

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As the financial services industry faces an unprecedented surge in attempted fraud, credit unions must strengthen their defenses to protect their assets and members’ data. Fraudsters continue to evolve their tactics, making it crucial for credit unions to adopt advanced technologies that can effectively detect and prevent fraudulent activities. In the battle against financial fraud, IMS’s Anomaly Detection service is a powerful tool, empowering credit unions to stay vigilant and combat fraudulent behavior effectively.

Let’s explore the current landscape of financial fraud and the key technologies credit unions can use for detection and prevention.

Addressing the Rising Tide of Financial Fraud

A TransUnion report has shed light on the alarming increase in attempted fraud within the financial services industry. Fraudsters have diversified their tactics, including money laundering, counter-terrorism fraud, synthetic identity theft through mule schemes, and peer-to-peer payment fraud. The constantly evolving market conditions contribute to the ever-increasing financial fraud risk, making it critical for credit unions to adopt proactive measures to detect and prevent fraudulent activities.

Recognizing the need for heightened security measures, 93% of credit unions have started funding security, authentication, or digital identity initiatives since 2021, according to research from PYMNTS.com. However, credit unions still lag behind other financial institutions in leveraging advanced technologies to combat financial fraud effectively. Traditional fraud prevention methods are no longer sufficient to counteract the speed and complexity with which fraudsters operate.

To fight this rising tide of financial fraud, credit unions and other financial institutions must leverage advanced technologies equipped with real-time monitoring capabilities. 

The Current Financial Fraud Landscape

Financial regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, have identified several prevalent fraud types that credit unions need to be vigilant about:

  • New Account Fraud: Criminals target accounts opened online or by phone to exploit vulnerabilities in the onboarding process.
  • Imposter Schemes: Fraudsters impersonate government agencies or other entities, offering fake services to deceive individuals and steal money or information.
  • Small Business Administration Loan Fraud: Schemes related to government initiatives like the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans have become a breeding ground for fraud.
  • Business Tax Credits Fraud: Criminals exploit tax credits intended for businesses for personal gain.

To address these incidents effectively, credit unions are increasingly focusing on key areas of risk mitigation. A PwC report highlighted data privacy and cybersecurity, the use of new technology, digital identity authentication, Anti Money Laundering (AML) efforts, Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, and local regulatory pressures as key concerns for financial institutions.

Enhancing the Credit Union Business Model

While credit unions have historically been valued for their member-centric approach and personalized relationships, it is crucial to complement this model with a strong emphasis on digital solutions. Implementing strong authentication measures and investing in fraud prevention technology are important steps to prevent account takeovers and financial fraud. Unfortunately, many credit unions have been slow to adopt these technologies, making them prime targets for criminals.

Technologies Tackling Financial Fraud

To support their defenses against financial fraud, credit unions can leverage a range of advanced technologies, many of which rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies play vital roles in fraud detection and prevention:

  • Member and Corporate Onboarding and Screening: AI-powered software can analyze member and corporate data in real time, identifying suspicious activities during the onboarding process.
  • Transaction Monitoring and Screening: Machine learning algorithms can monitor transactions in real-time, flagging unusual activities and potentially fraudulent behavior.
  • Transaction Fraud Detection: Advanced analytics and AI help detect fraud patterns, uncover hidden relationships among criminals, and reduce false positives. IMS’s Anomaly Detection solution, Polaris Radar, uses machine learning to actively monitor and generate alerts for suspicious activity. 
  • Sanctions and Watchlists Screening: AI-driven screening tools ensure compliance with regulatory requirements by identifying individuals or entities on watchlists.

By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, credit unions can achieve seamless, reliable, and strategic fraud and AML sanction compliance, significantly enhancing their ability to combat financial fraud.

Anomaly Detection: Empowering Credit Unions with Real-Time Fraud Detection

Detecting and preventing financial fraud is an ongoing challenge for credit unions and other financial institutions. With the threat landscape constantly evolving, embracing advanced technologies for real-time monitoring is crucial.

IMS’s Anomaly Detection service leverages the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze large volumes of transaction data. By establishing baseline behavioral patterns, the service can detect anomalies and deviations that might indicate fraudulent behavior. This proactive approach enables credit unions to identify potential threats swiftly and take decisive action to protect their members and financial assets.

Protect your credit union from the escalating threat of financial fraud. Explore IMS’s Anomaly Detection service today and connect with us at this link to find out how we can help meet your specific needs.

FedNow + Cloud: The Perfect Match for Credit Unions?

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The financial landscape is going through a significant shift with the launch of the Federal Reserve’s instant payments service, FedNow. Designed to enable real-time payment processing, this service is set to revolutionize the way financial institutions operate, driving them towards embracing cloud-based solutions, such as IMS’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). As credit unions try to keep up with the demands of real-time payments and deliver enhanced member experiences, the cloud is a key catalyst of innovation and growth.

Let’s dive into the impact of the FedNow launch on financial institutions and discover how cloud adoption can drive credit union evolution.

The FedNow Initiative: The Push Towards the Cloud

The FedNow service, set to revolutionize the payments ecosystem, has captured the attention of financial institutions across the United States. According to a recent report by PYMNTS.com, the launch of FedNow is pushing financial institutions to embrace the cloud. 

Real-time payment processing capabilities pose unique challenges and opportunities for credit unions. With payments happening instantly, credit unions must ensure their infrastructure can handle the volume of real-time data and transactions without disruptions. 

Here’s how the launch of FedNow is driving credit unions to embrace cloud-based solutions:

Scalability for the Modern Digital Landscape

Cloud computing empowers credit unions with a highly scalable infrastructure, tailor-made to meet the demands of real-time payments. With the ability to dynamically adjust resources based on transaction volumes, credit unions can ensure a seamless experience for their members, even during peak times.

Cost-Effectiveness and Resource Optimization

Cloud-based solutions offer credit unions a cost-effective approach to adopting cutting-edge technology. Unlike traditional on-premises systems that require significant upfront investments, cloud services such as IMS’s IaaS follow a pay-as-you-go model. This allows credit unions to allocate resources efficiently, focusing on providing value-added services to members without compromising their financial stability.

Enhanced Security and Fraud Prevention

Data security is critical. The FedNow service requires robust security measures to protect against fraud and data breaches. Cloud service providers invest heavily in security protocols, offering advanced data encryption and continuous threat monitoring. By leveraging cloud-based security solutions, credit unions can bolster their fraud prevention capabilities and safeguard sensitive financial data, earning their members’ trust.

Seamless Integration and Simplifying Member Experiences

Credit unions thrive on personalized member experiences, and the cloud’s seamless integration capabilities enable them to deliver just that. By connecting core banking systems and payment platforms with cloud-based solutions, credit unions can facilitate real-time payments through FedNow with minimal disruptions. This frictionless integration enhances member experiences and fosters loyalty.

Innovation and Future-Proofing Credit Unions

Beyond instant payments, the cloud opens doors to innovation for credit unions. With a flexible cloud infrastructure, credit unions can experiment with emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies empower credit unions to optimize operations, personalize member interactions, and proactively detect and prevent fraud. Embracing the cloud future-proofs credit unions, ensuring they stay relevant and resilient.

Pioneering FedNow & Real-Time Payments with IMS’s IaaS Solution

After the official launch of FedNow last July 2023, credit unions find themselves on the verge of a digital revolution in real-time payments. While only a small portion of banks have taken the lead, credit unions can seize the opportunity to redefine their member services.

By embracing cloud-based technologies like IMS’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service, credit unions can leverage scalability, cost-effectiveness, enhanced security, and innovation to meet members’ growing expectations.

Connect with IMS today and revolutionize your credit union’s real-time payment capabilities.

Embracing Costovation: How Credit Unions Can Adopt Lean Business Practices

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In today’s rapidly changing financial landscape, credit unions face increasing competition from traditional banks and fintech companies. To stay relevant and continue providing exceptional member experiences, credit unions must find innovative ways to streamline their operations and reduce costs while maintaining high-quality services. One approach that has gained traction is costovation — a strategy that combines cost reduction with innovation. Let’s discuss the concept of costovation, its benefits, and why credit unions should embrace it to enhance member experience and stay competitive.

What is Costovation?

Costovation refers to the process of reducing costs while simultaneously improving products or services, resulting in an enhanced customer experience. It is about doing more with less, finding creative ways to deliver value without compromising quality. This approach can help credit unions differentiate themselves from competitors while maintaining efficiency and financial stability.

Benefits of Costovation for Credit Unions

By focusing on cost-effective innovations and streamlining processes, credit unions can offer better products and services tailored to the specific needs of their members. This can result in higher satisfaction levels and increased member loyalty.

Implementing costovation strategies can also help credit unions identify inefficiencies and optimize workflows. This can lead to reduced operational expenses and improved resource allocation, allowing credit unions to focus on member-centric initiatives.

As credit unions embrace costovation, they can develop unique offerings that set them apart from traditional banks and fintech companies. This differentiation can help credit unions attract new members and retain existing ones. But with the vast amount of data available, credit union data analytics and discovery is essential. Raw, unfiltered data is unhelpful because you’re unable to use it to discover new insights and inform your approach moving forward. 

This Credit Union National Association (CUNA) article goes into more detail on how costovation can help businesses innovate without the high price tag.

5 Ways Credit Unions Can Implement Costovation

  1. Embrace Digital Transformation: Adopting digital solutions can help credit unions automate manual processes, reduce costs, and enhance member experience. For instance, investing in Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) allows credit unions to leverage a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure by outsourcing their computing resources, storage, and networking components to a third-party provider. 
  2. Leverage Data Analytics: Utilizing data analytics can help credit unions gain insights into member behavior and preferences, enabling them to develop targeted products and services. This can lead to increased member satisfaction and reduced operational costs by eliminating offerings that do not resonate with the target audience. It can also help credit unions avoid the pitfalls of bad data.
  3. Optimize Branch Operations: Credit unions should evaluate their branch networks to identify areas for improvement, such as consolidating underperforming branches or adopting lean staffing models. Additionally, implementing self-service kiosks or video teller machines can help reduce staffing costs and provide members with faster, more convenient service.
  4. Collaborate with Fintech Companies: Partnering with fintech companies can enable credit unions to access innovative solutions at a lower cost than developing them in-house. These collaborations can help credit unions enhance their product offerings, streamline operations, and improve member experiences.
  5. Invest in Employee Training and Development: By investing in employee training and development, credit unions can equip their staff with the skills and knowledge necessary to identify cost-saving opportunities and implement costovation strategies effectively.

Costovation in Action for Credit Unions

Some credit unions have simplified their loan application processes by leveraging digital platforms and data analytics, resulting in reduced processing times and improved member satisfaction.

Another common example of costovation is the introduction of remote deposit capture technology, which has allowed credit unions to reduce costs associated with processing paper checks while providing members with a convenient way to deposit funds.

By participating in shared branching networks, credit unions can offer their members access to a wider range of services and locations without incurring the costs associated with operating additional branches.

Costovation is an innovative approach that can help credit unions reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance member experience. By embracing costovation strategies, credit unions can differentiate themselves from competitors, attract new members, and ensure long-term financial stability. Ultimately, adopting costovation can lead to the development of lean businesses that people love, fostering a strong sense of community and loyalty among credit union members.

Costovation for your Credit Union with IMS Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) can play a vital role in helping credit unions implement costovation strategies. This approach eliminates the need for credit unions to invest heavily in on-premises hardware and maintenance, resulting in reduced capital expenditure and operational costs. By adopting IaaS, credit unions can allocate their resources more efficiently, focusing on member-centric initiatives and delivering better services without compromising on quality.

In addition to cost savings, IaaS also promotes innovation by providing credit unions with the agility and flexibility to quickly scale their infrastructure as needed, enabling them to respond to market changes and member demands more effectively. With access to state-of-the-art technology and tools, credit unions can develop and deploy new products and services faster, enhancing their competitiveness and member experience. 

By embracing IaaS with IMS as part of their costovation strategy, credit unions can build leaner, more agile organizations that are better equipped to adapt to the evolving financial landscape and deliver exceptional value to their members. Connect with us today if you have any questions or let us discuss our solutions tailored to your credit union!

The Impact of Recent Changes to SBA 7(a) and 504 Lending Programs on Credit Unions

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The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently made changes to the 7(a) and 504 lending programs, which have the potential to negatively affect credit unions and their borrowers. These changes aim to increase participation in the programs but experts believe it may inadvertently create challenges for credit unions and small businesses. Today we’ll be diving into the recent changes, their implications for credit unions, and the importance of staying informed about these developments.

Understanding the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 Lending Programs

The SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loan programs are designed to help small businesses access capital for various purposes, such as starting or expanding their businesses, purchasing equipment, or refinancing existing debt. The 7(a) program provides loans with flexible terms and conditions, while the 504 program focuses on financing fixed assets like real estate and equipment.

Recent Changes to the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 Lending Programs

The SBA has finalized a rule that introduces several changes to the 7(a) and 504 programs. Some of the key changes include expanded eligibility criteria, updates to ownership requirements and improvements to debt financing options.

The SBA has expanded the eligibility criteria for the 7(a) program, allowing more businesses to qualify for loans. Additionally, the agency has modified the affiliation rules for determining a borrower’s size, which could result in more businesses being considered small and eligible for SBA loans.

Under the new rule, a change in ownership involving a partial buyout of an existing owner’s interest in a business will no longer require SBA approval. This change streamlines the process and reduces the administrative burden on borrowers and lenders.

The SBA has also made improvements to the debt refinancing options available under the 504 program. These changes aim to make it easier for small businesses to refinance their existing debt and access additional capital.

Impact on Credit Unions and Borrowers

While the changes to the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 lending programs may seem beneficial at first glance, they have the potential to negatively impact credit unions and their borrowers. Here are some of the key concerns:

  • Increased Competition: The expanded eligibility criteria may result in increased competition among lenders for SBA loans. This could make it more difficult for credit unions to compete with larger financial institutions, particularly when it comes to offering competitive rates and terms to borrowers.
  • Higher Risk for Credit Unions: As more businesses become eligible for the 7(a) program, credit unions may face higher risks associated with a larger pool of borrowers. This could lead to potential financial challenges for credit unions, especially if borrowers struggle to repay their loans.
  • Challenges for Small Business Borrowers: As credit unions face increased competition and potential financial challenges, small business borrowers may find it more difficult to obtain affordable loans through these programs. This could hinder the growth and success of small businesses that rely on SBA loans for financing.

The recent changes to the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 lending programs have the potential to create challenges for credit unions and their borrowers. By staying informed about these developments and adapting accordingly, credit unions can continue to support small businesses and foster economic growth in their communities.

Optimize Credit Union Lending Processes with Data Archiver

As credit unions face increased loan limits and altered eligibility criteria, efficient data management becomes crucial for maintaining compliance with SBA requirements, tracking loan performance, and optimizing lending practices. IMS’s DataArchiver can play an essential role in helping credit unions adapt to these changes by ensuring secure storage, organization, and retrieval of vital information. By offering a secure and centralized platform for managing data, DataArchiver allows credit unions to easily access relevant information, generate reports, and make informed decisions based on historical data.

Aside from data management, mitigate potential risks associated with the changes to the 7(a) and 504 lending programs by providing robust data backup and disaster recovery features. In the event of data loss or system failure, IMS solutions ensure that credit unions can quickly recover crucial information, minimizing downtime and potential financial losses.

By leveraging comprehensive cloud solutions by IMS, credit unions can confidently navigate the challenges posed by the changes in the 7(a) and 504 lending programs, maintain compliance, and continue to support small businesses in their communities. Let’s talk about how we can serve your unique needs!

Important Credit Union Regulatory Hot Topics

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As a credit union, staying up to date on regulatory trends and concerns is crucial to ensure compliance and avoid penalties. With the ever-changing landscape of financial regulations, it can be challenging to keep track of the latest developments. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of key credit union regulatory hot topics to help you navigate through the current environment.

By keeping yourself informed about these developments, you’ll be better equipped to manage risks and maintain your institution’s reputation as a safe and reliable financial partner for your members. Let’s dive in.

Credit Union Regulatory Hot Topics: Severance Agreement Changes

Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed a decision from 2020 that had restricted the language in severance agreements that “prohibits ex-employees from saying disparaging things about the old boss.”

Essentially, the law was put back to its previous iterations because the law was believed to be too restrictive. This protects employees from being required to sign severance agreements that include these prohibitions.

According to the NLRB, “It’s long been understood…that employers cannot ask individual employees to choose between receiving benefits and exercising their rights.” Several banking regulatory agencies are looking into similar policies in recent months as financial wellness declines in many areas of the U.S. due to rising costs and interest rates.

This underscores the importance of updating employee and employer policies and agreements to ensure they stay compliant with changing laws and regulations.

Assessing Loan Delinquency in Mergers

There has been some talk recently about how the valuation and evaluation of delinquent loans and potentially delinquent loans are handled during mergers and acquisitions under the current expected credit losses (CECL) methodology.

Currently, a credit union that is acquired and seems to be performing well, or at least at sustainable levels, will need to include a prediction for how many of the loans being acquired may end up delinquent after the transition. This is based on a concept called Purchased Credit Delinquencies (PCD)

Conversely, acquiring a poorly performing lending program and credit union currently means that no further predictions or analyses must be made – the delinquencies are assumed to have already been in effect at the time of the merger. This has the potential to undervalue CUs performing well and overvalue CUs that are performing badly, according to several critics in the financial industry.

NCUA 2023 Supervisory Priorities: Interest Rate and Liquidity Risk

In January, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) shared a list of supervisory priorities for 2023.

Two of the top items are interest rate risk and liquidity risk. Since interest rates rose quickly throughout 2022, this increased interest rate risk (IRR) as well as the exposure to earnings and capital in related scenarios.

NCUA has urged credit unions to be proactive in managing IRR and will be reviewing credit union IRR programs for risk management and control activities to ensure:

  • Key assumptions and related data sets are reasonable and well-documented.
  • The credit union’s overall level of IRR exposure is properly measured and controlled.
  • Results are communicated to decision-makers and the board of directors.
  • Proactive action is taken to remain within safe and sound policy limits.

You can see the examiner’s guide for interest rate risk here.

Liquidity risk is also addressed in the examiner’s guide. Since higher interest rates reduce cashflows for many institutions, NCUA is telling credit union leaders to focus on and do a thorough audit of their CU’s liquidity risk management framework and to update and amend it as needed for the current markets.

NCUA 2023 Supervisory Priorities: Fraud Prevention and Detection

Fraud and cybersecurity threats continue to increase in volume year after year. And the NCUA has included some new items because of these elevated risks.

The first includes the implementation of a management questionnaire “designed to enhance identification of fraud red flags, material supervisory concerns, or other potential new risks.” The goal of this questionnaire is to help protect credit unions and prevent potential losses. To reduce instances of duplication, federal and state examiners will be coordinating to ensure all the bases get covered, but time and resources are not wasted.

Overdraft and NSF Fee Regulations

Regulatory agencies are scrutinizing the use and applications of overdraft and NSF fees as well. They are looking to establish whether credit unions’ usage is considered unfair under the Unfair Deceptive and Abusive Acts & Practices.

This doesn’t necessarily mean your credit union should abandon them, but it does warrant an assessment of your current fee structures and applications to ensure they don’t have the potential to be labeled as unfair.

Keep an Eye on Compliance

Keeping your members safe and thriving is a top priority for your credit union. And keeping your operations and data protocols compliant with current regulations, or exceeding them, is a main component.

And as credit unions continue their digital transformation journeys, it’s crucial to have top-level software in place to help with that.

IMS uses Polaris Sonar to help credit unions maintain compliance:

  • You can automate with machine learning and policies
  • Identify sensitive data exposure
  •  Accelerate compliance with privacy laws
  • And more

Reach out to us today with questions or let us walk you through our services and their features, all made specifically with your credit union in mind!

Essential Network Performance Metrics for the Financial Industry

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Cybersecurity is a major concern for companies across all industries, especially in the financial sector. The financial industry is facing a unique set of challenges. With vast amounts of sensitive information being exchanged, organizations must take extra precautions to protect their data. To ensure that their networks are safe, financial institutions should be aware of key performance metrics.

Let’s discuss the top network performance metrics for the financial industry and why they’re important for organizations to understand.

Network Performance Metrics to Watch: Bandwidth

There are many instances when you hear phrases like “we don’t have the bandwidth for that.” Often, this conveys a sense that whatever solution or course of action you’ve proposed, the current infrastructure of your credit union can’t handle it. This is what makes bandwidth one of the essential network performance metrics for the financial industry.

Bandwidth is the term used to describe the rate of maximum data transfer in your network over a certain amount of time.

The goal is to monitor and optimize your network’s bandwidth without going over the limit.

If your favorite retail store encounters a bandwidth problem that leads to downtime on its website, it can regain the trust of customers with sales and smart marketing. But credit unions are financial institutions, something that people rely on 24/7. Downtime and bandwidth issues for you can mean the loss of lifelong members.

People want infinite and unlimited access to their financial accounts. They want faster funds transfers, instant deposits, and payment options. This doesn’t leave much room for error. In fact, it makes it more crucial for your credit union to ensure that you have the bandwidth to handle whatever may come. And in these uncertain financial times, there are so many variables that your members will look to you to plan for and protect them from.

Level of Preparedness

Level of preparedness is a network metric that helps you determine how many of the devices on your network are fully patched and up to date. This is an important metric for credit unions and other businesses in the financial sector because it can help you detect and eliminate vulnerable devices and services.

Scanning for and managing vulnerabilities can also greatly reduce security breaches and lower IT and other costs.

Security Incidents/Intrusion Attempts

How many times has an attacker gained access to your information, assets, and/or network? How many times has an attacker attempted to access these items? Those numbers tell a story.

Of course, no cybersecurity effort should be without a thorough and frequent look into security incidents and intrusion attempts. Keeping an eye on these numbers allows you to recognize vulnerability trends more quickly.

Effective network performance keeps your vulnerabilities low. This means your analysis of security incidents and intrusion attempts should yield consistent results over time. That is, your numbers will stay consistent if your IT operations continue to evolve to protect your data from the latest threats.

If your IT program isn’t keeping things secure, time is of the essence. And it saves you time to keep yourself and your credit union leadership teams apprised of the number of incidents month to month and year to year.

Packet Loss

Packet loss measures the number of data packets lost during a transfer between two destinations in your network. Packets are the tiny pieces of data that are being sent and received over digital channels. This includes everything from downloaded files to email correspondence and more. There are many things that cause packet loss from software issues to network congestion or router problems.

Here’s a helpful tutorial on how to test for and fix packet loss issues.

Unidentified Devices on Internal Networks

Though most people imagine a hacking or breach attempt as having originated from “outside the castle walls,” it’s important to remember that every employee and member who accesses your network has the ability to corrupt it.

Employees can introduce viruses and other malicious code via their personal devices and habits. This can lead to issues as you are working toward building an efficient IT network.  

Company vs. Peer Performance

A high-level KPI to watch for in the list of network performance metrics for the financial industry is company versus peer performance. An efficient IT network, especially in the financial sector, should be able to keep performance above the average level for your industry.

You can compare a range of basic network metrics, including many of the ones we listed above. There are several reporting companies that have industry averages available online for you to compare against.

This is a metric that is more important when it comes to positioning your success in the industry. In essence, you won’t need this metric to improve specific cybersecurity efforts. But you will need these comparisons to show your board members and other credit union leaders that you are aware of the industry standards and are working toward and achieving those levels at the time you report to these governing bodies.

Network Connection

Checking connection is a big performance metric for ensuring optimal network performance. This metric shows you the connectivity between all the devices, nodes, and systems in your network.

You can use this metric to find and minimize service interruptions before they cost you customers and important data or operations.

IMS uses the premier backup solution for credit unions. This allows you to keep your credit union data up to date and stored securely at an offsite IMS data center. In addition to backup and recovery, this Rubrik backup solution also includes continuous data protection, ransomware recovery, replication and disaster recovery, virtualized environments, and Windows and Unix protection.

4 Ways the Great Resignation Impacts Cybersecurity Concerns

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There had been a lot of talk about the impact of the Great Resignation, and much of it centers around hiring practices, salary negotiations, and employee retention and turnover. But there are residual effects stemming from these mass resignations, and some of the most important effects involve your cybersecurity operations.

Let’s talk about some of the biggest ways the Great Resignation is impacting cybersecurity concerns, and what your organization should be doing about it.

High Employee Turnover = Higher Data Loss

Data loss is always a concern after a resignation. Some of it is intentional – employees take data out of spite or even to use at their next job. But there are also many instances where data is lost simply because the former employee didn’t store the data properly – they stored it on their work computer rather than in the shared files or department-specific locations, or maybe they were using a personal device to have work conversations or store other important data.

This data can be used to sabotage a previous employer or to gain an advantage over a new employer. Workplace culture is changing, and because younger generations are tech-savvy by the time they hit middle school, your data can be shared, copied, or destroyed very easily by a disgruntled employee, or even just by a former worker who was unaware their personal computer has the only copy of certain files. Safeguarding your data and teaching your staff to use and store it in the proper place and through proper channels can help mitigate this risk.

Because of these increased data cybersecurity concerns, your credit union should be using the best data access practices. The primary component of these practices should be reviewing the access your current and former employees have or had and making sure they only have necessary access moving forward.

When you do this, think about how each employee’s role and responsibilities have changed during their time at your credit union. Maybe they needed a higher level of access to member account details when they were in more of a customer service role, but now that they are running your marketing campaigns, that access is no longer necessary.

The Cybersecurity Industry Isn’t Immune to the Great Resignation

Another reason the Great Resignation is creating cybersecurity concerns is that the cybersecurity industry is also affected by these mass exoduses. Many cybersecurity professionals have also left their positions in the last few years.

Being short-staffed in the IT department also puts your credit union at risk of attack. Things can fall through the cracks; your former employees could negatively impact your system (either intentionally or unintentionally).

Because the stress of the pandemic affected certain professional roles and industries, like cybersecurity, at a higher rate, many employees are leaving the field. And when hundreds or even thousands of IT professionals leave the industry, it increases the threat to businesses from outside sources that are also aware of the shortages.

This decrease in cybersecurity team numbers also means your response to threats will likely be slower and less effective. No operations run as smoothly or efficiently when you are missing team members. That’s why it’s important to start thinking about how you want to invest your credit union’s IT budget – IMS has a host of services that can fill in the gaps left by employees resigning.

Remote Work Increases Risks

Remote work is more common than ever before, and that means more cybersecurity risk for your credit union.

While it may be nice not to have the responsibility of purchasing and maintaining a remote worker’s devices, that also means you can’t control where or how your data is stored and used, especially once that employee has resigned.

Remote workers are also working from a variety of different servers and networks – home, local coffee shops or libraries, etc. And this means your data and systems are being exposed to more varied risks. You also can’t control the security parameters on these employees’ home networks in the same way that you can monitor and improve your in-house network and servers.

Gaps between Employees and Tech

More and more organizations are increasing their IT and cybersecurity budgets, and this has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and the Great Resignation. Now is the time to create the structure and strategy that we didn’t have time for during the first days of the pandemic.

When your credit union evaluates its cybersecurity spending, it’s important to ensure that your technology purchases are compatible with your workforce.

You can implement the newest and best technology in the world, but if you don’t do so with a strategy and a timeline in place to help you and your employees work through the transitions successfully, you are wasting valuable resources.

Process management should be a priority when implementing new technology, especially amid mounting cybersecurity concerns. Your staff needs to know how and when to use these new tools, so they aren’t creating new gaps in your digital defenses.

Offload Some Data Security Expenses by Partnering with IMS and Its IaaS Solutions

Maintaining high-level success in your credit union’s business operations during a time of high turnover and increasing employee recruiting and retention expenses mean you will need to decrease your costs elsewhere.

That’s where IMS comes in. With our Infrastructure-as-a-Service package, you can pay as you go and create a customized service that includes:

  • Maintained access to your applications during disasters and outages
  • Decrease expenses by only paying for what you need
  • Free up your team to focus on expansion, or employee recruitment and retention
  • Leave the troubleshooting and software upgrading to IMS and increase your credit union’s stability, reliability, and supportability
  • Improved peace of mind – IMS has you covered, through any cybersecurity issues and all your employee changes

Growth-Driven Marketing Ideas for CUs in 2022

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There are dozens of reasons credit unions run marketing campaigns. Your board of directors could be having you focus on increasing current member engagement, introducing new products or services, and overall growth.

Many credit unions are focusing on a growth-driven marketing track as we move through 2022. Now that businesses, suppliers, and global economies are slowly recovering as we get further and further from the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic, we can focus on recouping some of that growth and expansion time that we lost over the last two years.

In that spirit, our team here at IMS wanted to share some growth-driven marketing ideas and strategies for credit unions to use before the year is up.

Break Down Silos & Create a Holistic Marketing Strategy

In a recent episode of the CUNA News Podcast, James Gilbert shared his thoughts on the importance of using your data and assets to create a unified front when it comes to growth-driven marketing strategies.

When it comes to creating a marketing strategy, many credit unions use a top-down approach, where the board of directors or executive staff share their plans and goals. While this is a great start, certain initiatives will take priority over others, and that means the resources used to successfully market your credit union will be divided unevenly.

This is a good thing! If you are focusing your credit union marketing on increasing the number of loans, there should be efforts from other sectors within your CU that are also supporting that. Your social media and credit card usage personnel will need to create cohesive messaging that speaks to your current goals.

In a perfect world, growth happens across all channels – you increase the number of members, loans, credit cards, savings accounts, etc. all at once. But because trends in personal financial management change rapidly, your marketing strategy must account for those things too.

Embracing Omnichannel Solutions

In today’s vastly connected digital landscape, omnichannel communication is crucial to your growth-driven marketing.

Omnichannel marketing means your credit union brand is reaching members and prospects through multiple communication channels, which can include text, social media, phone calls, email, print ads, and video assets.

Giving your members access to you via multiple touchpoints can help you reach a more diverse crowd – they’ll feel comfortable using their preferred methods to interact with your brand, rather than having to go out of their way to download new apps or create new user accounts on separate platforms to enjoy your content and services.

Focus on Personalization

Today, consumers – whether they’re shopping for a pair of shoes or a new home – are looking for solutions that fit them – personalization is a great way to take your credit union marketing to the next level and reach more people.

Think of marketing your credit union the way you’d market a home – every home has unique offerings, and every buyer is looking for certain features in the home they want to purchase.

The same is true in any B2C relationship – your credit union has to show each member that you are here to solve their specific problems and offer personalized products, services, and assistance.

Personalization can also be automated – you can create campaigns just for those members who are looking for a car loan, or who recently opened a checking account or signed up for your credit card. Rather than a generic “Thanks for doing business with us!” message, you can tailor print materials, emails, and chat messages to include specific details and insights about where they are in their personal financial journey.

Cross-Promotion, Not Cross-Posting

Your credit union marketing might include a host of different platforms, tools, and social media accounts. And each of these platforms should be seen as unique, just like your members are unique. When your members log onto their social media accounts and apps, they have different goals with each one.

And your growth-driven marketing campaigns should take this into account. Cross-promotion is the act of taking similar marketing content or messages and tailoring them to the platform you are featuring them on. Many credit unions and other businesses make the mistake of posting the exact same things across all their public platforms – this is called cross-posting.

And while cross-posting does get your brand out there and on people’s feeds, it’s not serving each platform effectively.

An in-depth LinkedIn post about how to prevent credit card fraud, for example, should be created with a much different message than an Instagram or Twitter post. Though this seems like it should be common knowledge, social media marketing is time-consuming, and it will often feel easier to create one message and one graphic, and then share them across your CU’s accounts.

But if your credit union marketing strategies are aimed toward member growth, cross-promotion can make each post on each platform that much more powerful!

As Your CU Grows, So Does Your Data – IMS Data Discovery Solutions Can Help

With credit union growth comes the growth of your data as well. But storage is only half the battle because the data you collected has significant value. It can help you understand your members and your business operations more comprehensively.

Many growth-driven marketing strategies rely on data and analytics to create targeted campaigns intended to reach the best audience for your business while offering your members and prospects content that they view as valuable.

The IMS DataArchiver is a great tool for managing and storing your data efficiently without breaking the bank. This SaaS solution can save up to 80% of primary data storage costs while still protecting your data from ransomware and other threats, giving you built-in data comprehension, deduplication, and visualization tools.

Anyone at your credit union may access the DataArchiver through a secure portal that includes full-text search capabilities, audit trails, and more.

Use your data and IMS’s private cloud solutions to work smarter, not harder this year. 

3 Benefits of Data Discovery

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Like any business, a credit union’s data is an important asset for its operations. But if you don’t have the ability or expertise to analyze that data and use it effectively, you’re just sitting in a library waiting for the books to teach you something without you ever opening one.

Data discovery is the process of analyzing your credit union’s data using visual aids and other tools that can help those in your business who are less technologically inclined understand the insights housed within that collection of data. The insights gleaned from good data discovery can help your credit union’s bottom line and your employee performance, and even member satisfaction.

There are many reasons why data discovery is essential to the growth and success of your credit union operations. Let’s talk about some of the biggest benefits of data discovery for your credit union.

You Can Better Understand Your Credit Union Data Logistics

One of the top benefits of data discovery is the knowledge you, your employees, and even your board of Directors will gain on the logistics of your credit union data.

Much like the concept of “the Internet,” how, why, and where your data is stored and used can be a difficult concept to grasp, even though you are likely using or interacting with that data every day.

With data discovery, you can understand where all your different data types are stored and who has access to them. This aids in security matters, as well as productivity. One of the easiest ways to lose momentum in a work environment is to not have the tools or resources you need to complete your tasks.

You can also know which data is being transmitted, how it’s being moved around, and over which channels in your technology network. Data quality starts with data inventory, and a good data discovery tool can help with both of those things.

Data Discovery Reduces Inconsistencies Caused by Multiple Information Silos

Your credit union likely stores and shares information across multiple information silos. Think of it as a filing cabinet system. While the information in these silos may be organized, they aren’t all housed in the same data unit.

These information silos can create serious data issues as you try to aggregate the data you have stored across them all. Inconsistencies in your systems can lead to issues with duplicate information, incorrect versions of dated data, and more. The ability to reconcile these information silos and the data within them is important to your credit union when it comes to keeping data up to date and consistent.

This is even more true now that we are in the age of remote work. If your information silos don’t sync up, you could have staff members or credit union members working off old or incorrect data.

Competitive Advantage Comes from Data-Driven Approaches

The biggest benefits of data discovery come from the competitive advantages you can glean from good data. The days of blanket marketing ads that target whole regions – and even countries – are long gone.

Your approach to data discovery is one of the most valuable tools you can use to grow your credit union member base, offer targeted and high-demand products and services, and teach your staff how to meet the needs of your members and the greater community.

Much like the data housed in information silos must be pulled together, so must your data discovery tool enable you to find the insights that help your credit union operations improve.

In many businesses, certain departments know more (or less) about different initiatives and workflows than others. When this occurs, your operations can lose productivity and even credit union members as you try to hunt down the data and insights you need to form a clear picture of your next steps. Data discovery is a great way to close those gaps in your data analysis.

Data discovery helps drive your understanding of your credit union’s competitive advantages. When you’re able to look at the big picture your full range of data makes, you can create solutions that not only benefit your credit union’s business but can also create differentiators in your market. Data discovery is what positions credit unions to better service specific people and communities than big banks and universal automation do.

IMS Data Archiver: The Key to CU Data Discovery Done Right

The IMS Data Archiver is a powerful data discovery tool that has been tailored to credit union needs. Simple and cost-effective, IMS Data Archiver can save you up to 80% of your primary storage costs, reduce backup times, and can help you manage unlimited file servers in a distributed environment with zero end-user disruption.

This tool includes several powerful tools, a few of which are:

  • Ransomware protection
  • Data life cycle management
  • Built-in data visualization tools
  • Multi-remote site management
  • Data compliance and e-discovery tools
  • Data compression and de-duplication

Check out the data discovery tool and other IMS protection and compliance services on our website or give us a call today.

Disaster Recovery Dos & Don’ts

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Credit unions have had their fair share of setbacks in the last year. However, the recent 4th quarter report from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) shows that assets, shares, and deposits grew during the last months of 2021. To capitalize on that momentum, your credit union must continue to provide more on-demand and real-time products and services while you grow your member base.

But you can’t do that without a top-tier disaster recovery plan. But what does a good plan look like? Let’s go through some disaster recovery dos and don’ts.

Do: Set Plans & Goals for Your Disaster Recovery

Every disaster recovery system needs to be tested. And for you to measure how well your test and disaster recovery system work, you need to have something to measure against.

The best way to do that is to identify and set goals for KPIs (key performance indicators). The most common include recovery time objective (the amount of time that can pass before your business has been impacted by the disaster) and recovery point objective (the maximum amount of data that can be lost).

Best practice is to test your disaster recovery and business continuity plans at least once every year. This includes emergency evacuation drills, walkthroughs, and risk assessment reviews along with your recovery plans.

Don’t: Rely on Protecting Just the Basics

It’s important to protect the core components of your business in your disaster recovery plan, including the items that you need for compliance reasons. But that should just be a starting point. As you work on your disaster recovery strategy, it’s important to look at all aspects of your credit union’s operations.

Are there contingencies in place that will allow you to communicate with remote or offsite staff members? Are your software, app, or plugin vendors considered in your plans? Do you have a detailed description of who does what during the disaster?

Even if you don’t prioritize everything on a scale from most important to least, thinking through the intricacies of your credit union’s operations can help you mitigate damage and mobilize support when it’s necessary.

Your disaster recovery plan can consist of several smaller plans based on your credit union’s branches, departments, and even the emergency type.

For example, your IT department may need to have different priorities in different disasters. This can be based on the potential threat to the physical components of your security system versus the digital ones.

Do: Make Your People a Priority

You’d be surprised how many disaster recovery plans go into exquisite detail about the operations and technology considerations, but they leave out the human element.

Many disasters are natural or physical in nature – and that presents many opportunities for your staff to be harmed. Here are a few things to think about as you create your credit union disaster recovery plan:

  • Where are the shelters or gathering areas for things like a fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, or another natural disaster?
  • What is the survival plan for your employees if there is an active shooter?
  • If people are injured, how do you want your teams to help? Which staff members should be prioritized? These questions and plans may need to be augmented by a medical professional’s opinion.
  • Who will contact the authorities in the event of a disaster, accident, or other harmful situation?

You can’t ensure business continuity if you aren’t protecting the ones who are doing that work for you. And don’t forget to make sure that all your employees are able to get to your designated areas without trouble. This includes people with physical disabilities (from limited mobility to deafness or blindness)

Don’t: Forget to Define the Impact of the Disasters You’re Preparing For

You can increase or decrease the scope of your credit union disaster recovery plan to include a business impact analysis.

A business impact analysis can help you measure and prepare for how each different disaster will actually affect your operations. This includes everything from employee tasks that are interrupted or rendered unusable, impact on credit union members and member services, data loss, and more.

Here are some examples.

Let’s say the disaster you are preparing for is a ransomware threat. In the business impact analysis, you’d list the impact of that disaster: data loss, employees unable to access files which lead to lost productivity, corruption of technology and other digital assets.

However, if the disaster is a tornado, the impact is much different: loss or damage of equipment, buildings, etc., potential data loss, information systems going offline, human injury, loss of productivity, member services and experience will suffer.

These impact areas may be different based on the size and operations of your credit union. But a good business impact analysis will not only prepare you for what to do in an emergency, it will also show you what areas will suffer. This gives you insight into what and how you should implement preventative and other measures to create a successful disaster recovery plan.

Worry-Free Disaster Recovery Services

Server crashes, human error, malicious activity, natural disasters – your credit union could succumb to any one of these disasters at any time.

Disaster recovery is an integral part of your business continuity. As more and more people rely on real-time banking technology, any downtime and data loss are major hits to your credit union.

IMS offers worry-free disaster recovery. We help you keep your credit union operational by ensuring your critical servers, branches, and third-party vendor communications are all recovered quickly.