Independent Banker - May 2017 - 7

Fine Points
By Camden R. Fine, president and CEO of ICBA
A new domain
O
ur increasingly digitized world raises
major concerns over data and cybersecurity.
While the banking industry is
highly regulated and subject to strict security
standards, we are living in an age of cybersecurity
threats and customer concerns about
the safety of their data. Data breaches at major
retailers, combined with a constant threat of
cyberattacks, have put security at the forefront
for community banks and consumers alike.
Fortunately, community banks can use new
technologies to mitigate the digital threats
posed by tech-savvy hackers and fraudsters.
Among them is the .BANK domain, a more
secure web domain for community banks and
their customers compared with the existing
.COM and .NET alternatives.
Here's how it works. Banks can now access a
.BANK domain through fTLD Registry Services
LLC, whose sole mission is to operate this
domain for verified members of the banking
community. (In other words, you'd work with
fTLD to change your domain from www.fnb.com
to www.fnb.bank.) Why bother? There are two
big reasons: security and marketing.
To qualify for a .BANK domain, banks must
meet several enhanced security requirements
that are not mandated in the .COM web
domains. Applicants must pass background
checks to be verified as banks and use secure
networks that fight the rising threat of distributed
denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The
.BANK process also employs email authentication,
which mitigates spoofing, phishing and
other malicious email-borne activities.
Another security feature is multifactor
authentication, which requires any updates to
the bank's domain to be made only by authorized
users. Further, .BANK domains must correspond
to the applicant bank's naming rights. In other
words, speculators can't buy up valuable names
like they did during the .COM boom years ago.
These security requirements not only protect
bank users and their customers but also help
convey to consumers that .BANK websites and
email platforms are more secure. That brings us
to the marketing advantages of the domain. With
There are two big reasons to
sign up for a .BANK domain:
security and marketing.
so many security threats facing the average consumer,
the security of .BANK provides peace of
mind by demonstrating adherence to the highest
security standards in protecting customer data.
As relationship bankers, community banks can
further their customer relationships with the
assurance that online, mobile and email interactions
can be trusted.
While some 2,400 US banks had already
registered a .BANK domain as of the end of last
year, we can ensure uniformly enhanced security
only through industrywide adoption of this new
system. The more banks that adopt a .BANK
domain name, the more recognition and trust
the .BANK brand will gain.
I might not be as tech-savvy as the twentysomethings
operating two smartphones and a
tablet while walking down the street, but I see
this issue as a no-brainer. At a time of rapid technological
change and rising security concerns,
community banks need all the help they can get
to stay ahead. I strongly encourage community
bankers to investigate this opportunity and make
the most of it. Learn more at register.bank.
Follow Camden R. Fine on Twitter,
@Cam_Fine.
independentbanker.org
ICBA IndependentBanker 7
http://www.qmags.com/clickthrough.asp?url=www.fnb.com&id=20242&adid=P7E1 http://www.fnb.bank http://www.qmags.com/clickthrough.asp?url=www.independentbanker.org&id=20242&adid=P7E2
Independent Banker - May 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - May 2017
