"HP's trusted operating system (OS) technology, developed with SecureWare, is the key difference between us and any other bank who chooses to go online. The trusted OS secures customers’ data in a virtual vault, while it is stored with the bank, preventing anyone, from the inside or the outside, from gaining unauthorized access." Michael Karlin, President Security First Network Bank FSB http://www.sfnb.com
Based on an HP-UX Trusted Operating System, SFNB is the first online bank to receive Federal approval, assuring their customers a secure online banking solution.
"We've been working closely with HP on other Trusted Operating Systems-they are leaders in this technology-The HP equipment scales so well, we’ll be able to grow the equipment across the whole HP line up to higher-end servers as the banks grow." David Arnovitz, President SecureWare
Bank customers seldom visit the lobby of a bank anymore. For years now, most members of the baby boom generation and later have relied upon the ATM machine to give them access to whatever banking transactions they require.
Now, Security First Network Bank (SFNB) has taken bank automation a giant step further. There is still a lobby, only it is an electronic one, filling the window of your home PC or Macintosh. SFNB claims the spotlight as the world’s first federally approved, completely online bank, certified by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). Michael Karlin, the President of the newly formed online bank, commented,
"Until now, the security threats were just too great to place true banking services on the Internet. By bringing together for the first time, encryption technologies, firewall and filtering router technologies, and Trusted OS technologies, we have overcome the security problem that has kept comprehensive banking services off the network to date. Gaining OTS industry approval was a hard-earned coup for SFNB, which gives our customers not just our assurance, but the government’s assurance, that our security infrastructure is solid." The OTS serves as the federal regulatory body for the savings bank industry.
Secure Platform Is The Key
Customers of this new online bank write checks and pay bills electronically, have access to all current rates and promotions, and because it is all done online, real-time, they enjoy perpetually balanced bank accounts. This bank never closes.
This "virtual" bank quite literally resides in a client/server environment on an HP 9000 Model 715 server, which works as the bank's main Web server, and runs the bank application client software. The database server, which front ends the payment system, is an HP 9000 Model K200 server, housing a single processor board and filled with 128 MB RAM, 10 GB RAID and several communications boards.
The keystone on which all other pieces of this virtual bank depend is the formidable security architecture provided by the HP channel partner, SecureWare a specialized software security company based in Atlanta, Georgia. SecureWares impervious security infrastructure begins with a Trusted OS running on HP-UX version 10.0, and includes many other layers of security from the network to the browser, to sophisticated encryption that protects even the traveling banking customer from intrusion.
SecureWare President, David Arnovitz, explains why HP was a critical link in developing the secure platform for SFNB. "We had a head start on this project because of our previous joint military projects that required top-flight levels of security. The HP team helped us put it all together. The core system at SFNB runs on two HP computers, with duplicates of each box running for redundancy. We anticipate continuous expansion of this system as the bank adds more customers."
Richard Gluck, who is in charge of SecureWare commercial sales, adds, "HP provides the whole package, service included, not just a computer system. Of course, the reliability and performance of that computer is important, but HP will be a big player in this market because they provide the total solution. Businesses don’t have the luxury of huge MIS staffs the way they did fifteen years ago, so HP service will count for a lot."
Security FirstIt's in the Name For SFNB, security truly comes first. They have provided the total security solution for their banking customers, and addressed the security challenge at all levels, system-wide. In fact, the same technology that keeps classified government information away from uncleared personnel, now keeps bank information protected and available to users only through the "virtual vault" of the bank applications.
HP and SecureWare recently worked together on a large Navy program which required them to bring the SecureWare security technology and trusted OS up to date with the latest version of HP-UX, version 10.0. This extraordinary effort resulted in a big win for both companies, and provided the base operating system platform for SFNB.
SFNB also employs SecureWares authen-tication software, called HannaH(tm), which identifies and authenticates customer service representatives and protects disclosure of customer information over the bank’s internal network. Because it is integrated into the HP-UX operating system, HannaH cannot be bypassed. To handle "external attack," the bank depends on Netscape’s SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol to encrypt data going to the bank server, and verify the bank server to the user. Access control is based on the internal users cryptographically protected identity.
Virtual Bank Manager - A Bank Lobby at your Fingertips
The banking application deployed on top of this secure Web platform is called the Virtual Bank Manager(tm) (VBM), a unique GUI application that puts the bank customer onto a Home Page that mimics a traditional bank lobby. Developed by a SecureWare affiliate called Five Paces Software, Inc., VBM provides the bank customer with a bank lobby scene featuring various desks and attendants, each labeled with a different banking taskaccount set-up, personal finance, customer service, etc. Customers simply point and click on their "destination" and quickly move through menu-driven transactions. They can download to SFNB their existing bill paying and account information from popular financial packages such as Quicken (tm). Online help is also available through SFNB account representatives via e-mail or telephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Karlin commented, "Today, an electronic interface into your bank is a value-added service that can set one bank apart from the next. In the coming years, an electronic interface into a bank will instead be a cost of doing business. Those banks and businesses, like Security First and HP, that are prepared for this paradigm shift, will benefit greatly."
Software Marketability
With Internet usage increasing up to fifteen percent per month, online banking provides a natural, time-saving solution for those already online. SFNB, recognizing their unique position as the only OTS-approved online banking site, recently acquired Five Paces Software. (Five Paces has licensed the Secure Web Platform(tm) and HannaH from SecureWare.) So, in addition to providing banking service to its own customer base, SFNB, through the Five Paces division, will soon remarket the VBM software and other financial services applications to other banks, allowing these banks complete freedom to customize their own "Home Page bank lobby", and provide their own online banking solution.
With the help of Hewlett-Packard, SecureWare, and Five Paces Software, Security First Network Bank will prove to the world that safe banking over the Internet is here to stay.
HP Takes Security First Network Bank to the Net Visit the "lobby" of this online bank by accessing their home page at http://www.sfnb.com.
HP Takes Security First Network Bank To the Net. . .
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Take Your Business to the Net with HP http://www.hp.com/go/internet
Hewlett-Packard and HP are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard company in the USA and other countries. Quicken is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc. HannaH and Secure Web Platform are registered trademarks of SecureWare Inc. Virtual Bank Manager is a registered trademark of Five Paces Software Inc. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Inquiries concerning such trade-marks should be made directly to those companies.
Technical information in this document is subject to change without notice.
(c) Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company 1995 All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, adaptation, or translation without prior written permission is prohibited except as allowed under the copyright laws. Printed in USA 9/95 5964-3878E