Listserv Update: January-March, 2005

CUNA Technology Council
March 22, 2005

The Listserv is a centralized list of e-mail addresses that is used for group discussions by members of the Technology Council. Posting a question on the Listserv is a great way to get immediate feedback from other technology professionals on just about any question. In case you don’t check the Listserv regularly at on the web, here are some interesting subjects that have appeared over the last two months.

Advanced ATM Functionality Has anyone installed the check cashing and imaging functionality on their ATMs? If so, what brand ATM, and who is doing the driving?

ATM Connectivity We are converting our ATM network over to IP connected ATMs. Some of our ATMs are off-premises so they can't be connected directly to our LAN. We are looking at options for connecting these remote ATMs and would appreciate hearing how any of you are handling this type of situation. We want to have network access to the remote ATMs so that we can easily update marketing content, etc.

Biometrics We are currently monitoring the use of biometric solutions to authenticate a user/member for access to various systems. While we have a biometric solution for our kiosks, I have been reluctant to use it until we can obtain a solution that will work across multiple applications. We do not want our members scanning their fingers multiple times for different applications. We believe that will have a negative affect on maintaining high member trust.

Please share your experience with biometrics by providing a summary of what you use biometrics for, what application provider was selected (and if this was the only option provided to them by the application software developer), what biometric type (i.e. finger, retina, etc.), member acceptance rate, has the process been reliable, and what backup authentication method is used.

Network Engineers/Vendors We're in the process of evaluating our network engineers and would like some recommendations as to what vendors you use (if you outsource), and your overall satisfaction with them. We're nationwide with all our branches and would like to see if we can increase our level of service.

Automated Time Cards We are still having our folks fill out and print a manual time card that is then entered by our HR clerk. It is time to move on. What automated time cards are other CUs using? Is it costly? Does it tie into the user’s network login? Any praise or complaints?

E-Mail Signatures Does anyone know how to add a signature to all outgoing messages in Exchange? I would like to have the credit union contact information and the disclaimer added to all outgoing e-mails.

Security Testing We are planning on having penetration testing this year and would like to know what companies other CUs use, and if you are happy with them. Also thinking about a possible intrusion prevention solution. Do you currently use intrusion prevention or intrusion detection? If so, what companies do you use? IE Auto-FillHow many shops out there have Internet Explorer's auto fill turned off atthe domain level? Who sees or does not see auto fill as a potential securityissue? I disabled it yesterday, and you'd think the world was ending here.For home use, I see no problem with it, but for corporate use, I thinkthere's a potential security problem. Please don't tell me Firefox is the answer. Battery BackupWe are in the process of searching for a battery backup system for our serverroom. I have a quote for an APC system, and a Powerware system. I am wondering what other CUs use and the related pros/cons.Server FailureHas anyone experienced a server failure in which a mirrored drive has brokenthe mirror, without a hardware failure and without having been manuallybroken? We have recently experienced this problem three times in the past sixweeks.