FFIEC News

BD-BrandProtect Launches Internet Risk Analysis Service

(Oct 03, 2007)-- BD-BrandProtect, the leader in online threat protection, announced the availability of its Internet Presence Threat Analysis service. Tailored for financial services organizations, this new service delivers ongoing Internet presence risk assessment now required by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). Such risks include phishing attacks, traffic diversion schemes, illegal Web linking and online brand misrepresentation. As part of the service, BD-BrandProtect provides consultation and strategy on Internet threat-related compliance, takedown services and a comprehensive set of reports to complement Enterprise Risk Management practices.

As financial services organizations continue to rely on the Internet for a growing number of financial transactions and customer communications, they frequently become the victims of Internet fraud or malicious activity. These threats can not only result in significant loss of revenue, but also permanently damage corporate reputations, customer relationships and consumer loyalty. With this offering, BD-BrandProtect provides financial services institutions with the ability to mitigate risks on the Internet, enhance compliance and meet regulatory obligations.

"Engaging in proactive threat analysis is not only an effective means of mitigating risk of victimization, it represents an investment in business continuity, and can bolster the organization's other compliance-related efforts," said Michael Kiefer, SVP of BD-BrandProtect. "Organizations that leverage this new service as part of ongoing systems and business planning will maximize their ability to meet customer needs in an efficient, effective manner -- and do so in a manner that protects organizational and client interests against continually evolving external threats."

The Internet Presence Threat Analysis service is based upon BD-BrandProtect's unique approach to online threat protection by combining advanced technology, round the clock Internet monitoring and exhaustive human analysis. The BD-BrandProtect offering is supported by an elite team of Internet Threat Experts that provides a deep level of filtering in annotating, commenting on and prioritizing information. This team monitors an organization's exposure to significant Internet threats by benchmarking against industry standards. This includes measuring the magnitude and impact of each infraction and working with the financial institution to set boundaries for acceptable risk.

An advanced rating system then assigns scores to each threat based on the overall risk exposure and likelihood of mitigation, which then provides the foundation for the removal of the most serious threats. Following the identification of these threats, BD-BrandProtect conducts an in-depth analysis of the reach, severity, frequency and complexity of each threat to calculate the overall threat impact and likelihood scores. By assessing these attributes using benchmarked data, BD-BrandProtect can determine an institution's exposure to Internet threats and their potential impact.

In addition to the threat analysis report, customers may choose to customize their report even further by measuring their 'threat' performance relative to their peers. This tailored approach provides highly relevant and actionable data, and the results are not skewed by outliers that may be lumped into an 'industry benchmark.' The financial services company chooses its peer group based on a wide variety of criteria including location, customer base, market size, asset size, etc.

"Threats will continue to escalate, and targeted companies need to become more proactive in deflecting them," said Avivah Litan, vice president and distinguished analyst, Gartner. "Gaining an understanding for these threats and how they intersect with measures taken to address related marketplace issues such as anti-counterfeiting and email security, is an important first step in this process."

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