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IT support for banks - Lexington, KY

We Ensure Your Bank's IT Network is Secure and Compliant

Next Century Technologies has the expertise and tools to help community banks meet the challenge of IT compliance. Banks that outsource their IT to us are better prepared for their IT audits because we partner with you to meet the audit requirements. We have an IT managed services support plan designed just for community banks.

Next Century Technologies is considered one of our few business partners whose work has been significant and influential to our bank.

- Brian Klink, Century Bank

Our Bank IT Support & Compliance Services

We provide the following to support your bank's IT network and security:

  • Employee cyber security awareness
    1. Employee vulnerability assessment and training
    2. Simulated phishing attacks
    3. Monthly cyber security newsletter
  • Risk assessment
    1. Threat analysis/risk determination
    2. Remediation planning
    3. Easy to understand reports
  • Dark web monitoring
  • IT Security polices and procedures updated and maintained
  • Vulnerability scans
  • Web content filter management
  • Logs and reports
    1. Weekly network health check
    2. Annual permission reporting
    3. Security policies
    4. IT logs
  • Business continuity plan and test
  • IT audit prep
  • Review of SOC-II vendor reports
  • Antivirus/antimalware security software provided for all computers and servers
  • IT Consulting Services:
    1. Help with picking out new hardware and software
    2. Help with selecting an internet provider and speed
    3. Help dealing with the internet provider when there’s a problem
    4. Bi-annual tech assessment and roadmap
  • NEW! Pentesting is here!
  • Friendly and responsive technical support for your staff includes:
    1. Priority response guaranteed with our Service Level Agreement (SLA)
    2. Four ways to open a ticket: by phone, by web portal, by e-mail or in-person
    3. E-mail help including e-mail encryption support
    4. Both on-site and remote support
    5. Flat-rate prices for new PC setups
    6. Domain name help
    7. Help with Microsoft and Office365 applications
    8. Troubleshooting of Windows operating systems
    9. Troubleshooting of Server operating systems
  • Maintenance of desktops and servers including:
    1. 24/7/365 monitoring of computers, servers, switches, firewall and internet
    2. Patches and updates for operating systems
    3. Patches and updates for Microsoft products
    4. Backup monitoring and testing
    5. Monitoring of server event logs
    6. Hardware lifecycle management and inventory
    7. Systems documentation
    8. Uninterruptable power supply (UPS) monitoring and testing
  • IT Management:
    1. User management (add/delete/change)
    2. Firewall management
    3. Switch management
    4. Wireless management
  • Free on-site travel for Fayette and surrounding counties

Assisting Kentucky Banks with Compliance since 2001

Bank Managed Services that are Proactive, Professional, and Offer Stellar Protection.

From the aspect of an IT solution provider, our favorite part of managed services is the freedom to select the best products for our clients. They trust us to make the best decisions for their IT. We are constantly researching and learning about technology and the threats that go with it so we can provide the best service possible and protect our clients’ investments.

I cannot imagine trying to operate a financial services organization without a knowledgeable group like NCT to help us with all of the security and compliance regulations that are firm is required to handle.

Chrysantha Clark, Meridian Wealth Management

We Provide Risk Assessments for Banks

As a reminder, one of the most important aspects of complying with bank regulators is to perform a security risk assessment (SRA) to evaluate how a bank is protecting its data. Every bank must perform a security risk assessment.  It is one of the most important documents in bank compliance.  It is the document that will first be looked at in any type of audit or investigation.

Why is a risk assessment so important?

Why is the SRA so important? Simply put, the output of the SRA will give you recommendations on how to reduce the risk of a data breach. How does it work? The SRA looks at all systems that contain bank data. It evaluates all the threats to and looks at all vulnerabilities to IT and evaluates the current protections that are in place to protect data. Based on all of the information that is gathered and evaluated, the results of the SRA will show the areas of greatest risk for a breach and provide a playbook (we call it the Work Plan) for how additional protections can lower the risk of a breach.

In addition to providing recommendations on how to reduce the risk of a data breach, the SRA process is widely considered to be a best practice in cybersecurity circles.  Cybersecurity is an issue for all organizations to deal with, not just banks. Many organizations that are not in the financial field conduct regular SRAs as a way of reducing risk in their business and helping keep their business systems operational.

As mentioned above, the SRA will point out areas where the risk of a data breach can be reduced.  A key point is that it is not possible to eliminate all risks. No matter how much an organization spends to implement additional security measures, some risks cannot be completely eliminated. The goal of implementing the recommendations of a risk assessment is to lower risk to the point that it is acceptable to the organization.

IT areas of focus for bank compliance:

  • Risk Assessment. Have one. It is required. Without one you can’t identify your vulnerabilities and you can’t address those vulnerabilities.
  • Archiving logs of user transactions and event notifications. Who did what, when and where? These are the questions that have to be answered! Staff is a lot less likely to steal personally identifiable information (PII) if they think they are being watched. You know people are paid to steal PII, right?
  • Secure e-mail implementation. Does your staff know how to send PII securely via e-mail? Use encryption if you need to send PII. Use a system that’s easy to implement.
  • Regular operating system and application updates for all computers. Computers should be updated weekly, and servers at least monthly. It is best to automate this process so its not forgotten. This automated process should provide notifications of what updates were successful and which were missed.
  • Regularly scheduled vulnerability scans. Do them at least once a quarter and following any major IT changes. The vulnerability scan compares your IT environment to several reputable databases of vulnerabilities to identify issues that need to be addressed. Vulnerability software needs regular updates, so should be subscription-based.
  • Policies & Procedures. Do you maintain a set of policies and procedures for handling and protecting PII?  Although IT is included, it covers all aspects of the office right down to locking doors to sensitive areas and minimizing the view visitors have of your paperwork and computer screens.
  • Quality firewall device with intrusion prevention system (IPS).  IPS is subscription-based protection that is updated as new IT threats emerge.
  • Good password policy. So critical! This includes not only how complex the passwords are, but how they are stored and end-user training on how to manage them. Bank employees have too many passwords to keep up with. Make it easier to keep all their passwords unique with password management software. A good password management software will eliminate sticky notes with passwords around the monitor and spiral notebooks full of passwords.
  • Internet restrictions. Keep the office computers focused on the business, not on games, shopping sites or social media. All of those sites are ripe with poor security that can lead to a breach of your data or a malware infection.
  • Mobile device management. PII should not be on unsecured mobile devices. If you must use mobile devices, via technology, they can be secured.
  • Laptop encryption. Windows 10 Pro includes encryption. A stolen or lost laptop is considered a breach. Even if you don’t think you store PII on that laptop, it is used to access email and cloud apps where PII is kept. So encrypt it.
  • Endpoint Protection. This includes your paid antivirus/antimalware, 2-factor authentication for e-mail and electronic records. Also encryption for e-mails.
  • Physical security. Keep the server room locked! Desktops should be locked down with password protection if left unattended. Can customers or clients wander behind the counter and have easy access to bank documents laying around?
  • Security Awareness Training. Last, but not least, the majority of breaches are inadvertently caused by employees. Keep them sharp with year-round cyber security training.