Nevada State Bank today announced plans to enhance its already secure Internet Banking service with added identity theft protection through its new SecurEntry feature.
This feature uses PassMark Security technology. It comes at no additional cost to Nevada State Bank Internet Banking clients, and does not require special hardware or software. SecurEntry technology provides two-way security, authenticating the bank's Web site to its customers and the customer's identity to the bank.
"While no invasions of customer accounts have occurred at Nevada State Bank to date, there is every reason to remain diligent and take security to the next level," said Bill Martin, Nevada State Bank chairman, president and CEO. "The client will know with certainty that he or she really is at the genuine NSB site and not a phony site established to deceive them. SecurEntry can tell if the client is at their own computer. They'll know it's us and we'll know it's them."
Customers will continue to access their accounts using their current login ID and password. They will also be asked to set up their personalized SecurEntry profile. First, they will select a picture from a wide variety of images and will create a corresponding caption, both known only to the Internet Banking client. After setup, users will see their secret picture and phrase each time they log in so that they can be assured that they are accessing Nevada State Bank's Internet Banking site, rather than an imposter site.
Because most users access their accounts from one or two computers (i.e., machines at home or work), SecurEntry will remember their computers. In the event that a customer needs to log in from a different computer, SecurEntry will ask "challenge questions" to further verify the client's identity. When setting up their personalized SecurEntry profile, clients will select three challenge questions and provide answers known only to them. When logging in to their accounts using unfamiliar computers, users must provide the correct answer to the randomly selected challenge question before accessing their account information.
The initial SecurEntry setup will take only a few minutes. Thereafter, time spent logging in to accounts should be comparable to the time spent prior to the addition of SecurEntry features.
Not only does SecurEntry provide a higher level of security for Nevada State Bank customers, it also allows the bank to use risk management and transaction analysis tools to identify potentially fraudulent activities. The result is end-to-end protection for Nevada State Bank and its customers against phishing, spoofing, key logging, and other fraudulent attacks.
Nevada State Bank's SecurEntry feature meets guidelines outlined by the FFIEC's Authentication in an Internet Banking Environment, released in October 2005. Requiring national banks to conform to its guidance by year-end 2006, the FFIEC issued the recommendation to reflect changes in protection of customer information, increased incidence of identity theft and fraud, and the introduction of improved technologies and other risk-mitigation strategies.