by First American State Bank | May 9, 2023 | News
Overview
Do you hate passwords? Are you tired of constantly logging into new websites or can’t remember all of your complex passwords? Frustrated by having to generate new passwords for new accounts or having to change old passwords for existing accounts? We have good news for you. There is a solution called biometrics that helps make cybersecurity easier for you. Below we explain what biometrics are, how they make your life simpler and why you will start seeing more of them.
First, Why Password?
Passwords are part of something called authentication, the process of proving who you are. There have typically been two things you can provide to prove your identity: something you know (like your passwords) and something you have (like an ATM card or your mobile device). Traditionally authentication has been done with passwords. Passwords were first adopted as it was one of the easiest authentication solutions to deploy. However, over the years our lives have become far more complicated with far more accounts than anyone ever expected. It is quite common for a person to have over 100 passwords in their work and personal life.
In addition, cyber attackers have become quite good at guessing, stealing or cracking passwords.
This is why you see so many rules about passwords, such as making them long (so they are hard to guess) and using a unique password for every account (so if one of your accounts is hacked, your other accounts are still safe). The problem with all of the password requirements is they make being cybersecure more difficult. Password managers dramatically help as they securely remember all of your passwords and log you into websites for you, but is there a better way? This is where biometrics can help by providing a third thing to prove your identity – something you are.
Biometrics
Like passwords, biometrics are another way to prove who you are. The difference is instead of having to remember something (like your passwords) you use an element of who you are to prove your identity, such as using your fingerprint to gain access to your phone. Biometrics are much simpler as you don’t have to remember or type anything, you just authenticate using who you are. There are many different types of biometric such as your voice, how you walk, or your iris prints. However, fingerprints and facial recognition are the two most common, especially for mobile devices. While biometrics have a tremendous number of advantages, they also have some disadvantages, one of the biggest being if your fingerprint or face is copied by cyber attackers, you cannot change them.
Passkeys
Over the coming months and years, you should start seeing biometrics replacing passwords with a new technology called Passkeys. This technology is being adopted by Microsoft, Apple and Google and you should soon see it being adopted at more and more websites over time. Passkeys replace passwords by allowing you to prove who you are by simply using biometrics combined with your mobile device. When you create an account at a website (such as Google or Apple) instead of creating a password you register your mobile device. Moving forward you log into that website by authenticating with your mobile device using biometrics, such as your fingerprint or facial recognition. The website trusts your mobile device, and your mobile device confirms it’s you using biometrics. In addition, your biometric data (fingerprint or face) is not sent to any website. Instead, your biometrics is securely stored locally on your device. It’s just used to unlock the “Passkey”, a unique key, created for each site, which your device sends to the site while protecting your biometric data. While no solution is perfect, biometrics and solutions like Passkeys can help keep you secure while simplifying security.
by First American State Bank | May 1, 2023 | Cyber Security News, News
From: SANS Security Awareness
Artificial Intelligence (AI) describes systems programmed to think and respond like humans. In fact, we asked the AI solution ChatGPT that very question and got this response.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. It involves the development of algorithms and computer programs that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, understanding natural language, making decisions, and playing games. There are several types of AI, including rule-based AI, expert systems, and machine learning.
What makes AI so powerful is it can simulate the intelligence and reasoning capability of the human mind, but it can analyze exponentially far more information than any human and do it exponentially faster.
The concept of AI is not new. Originally covered in science fiction novels, AI is something that has been in development for decades. The reason you are hearing so much about it now is that for the first time, anyone has the opportunity to interact with and see the true functionality of AI.
ChatGPT, an online-powered AI chat bot, is one of the first publicly available solutions that is able to respond like a real human, passing something called the Turing Test. This test determines a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior by having a real human interact with the machine through a text- based chat channel. If the human could not tell whether they were interacting with a machine or person, the machine is said to have passed the test. AI solutions today are the first publicly available that do just that.
However, online conversations are just the beginning of what AI can do. There are now AI solutions that can create a video of a person teaching a class in any language, analyze health records and quickly determine who most likely has cancer, create news articles or essays on the topic of your choice, generate images for children’s books, or create code for new computer programs. While AI is not necessarily something to be feared, there are some dangers of which to be aware.
Dangers of Artificial Intelligence
- Recreating You: AI solutions can take a recording of a person’s voice – your voice – and then use it to create real-time audio that sounds just like you, saying whatever it wants to impersonate you. So, a cyber attacker could record a phone voice message that sounds like you, tricking your coworkers, your bank, or a family member into thinking you called and asked them to take an action. AI can also do this with pictures or video. Sometimes called Deep Fakes, an AI solution can take an existing picture or video of you and use it to recreate entirely new pictures or videos (including your voice) appearing to show you doing things that you never did.
- Wrong Answers: As for the data or answers AI provides, the solutions can be wrong. AI often uses public information from the Internet, and its answers can be influenced by the biases of its developers. While typical search engines are designed to provide you the “best” or most correct answer to your queries, solutions like AI may be designed to give you the most human- like answer. Which is better depends on what you are attempting to achieve.
- Not All Equal: With AI becoming the latest hot technology, there are literally hundreds of startup companies now offering different AI services. Many of these want your information or credit card for a trial. Be careful – not all AI services are trustworthy. Do your research before signing up and using an AI service.
- Your Privacy: Whenever using or interacting with an AI system, such as when chatting online with ChatGPT, be aware that any information you enter into the system can not only be processed by it but also retained and used to give answers to others. This means if you enter any personal information about yourself or any confidential information from work, that information will be stored and potentially shared with or sold to others. Do not share or enter any information that you consider sensitive, personal, or is confidential at work.
The Future of AI
Artificial Intelligence is still very much in its infancy, similar to where the Internet was twenty to thirty years ago. While we can expect rapid evolution and adoption of AI, it’s very difficult to predict what its impact will be. Just be aware that these capabilities are out there, and when using AI, be very careful what information you enter and share.
by First American State Bank | Jan 9, 2023 | Colorado Expression Magazine, News
FIRST AMERICAN STATE BANK SPREADING JOY WITH THEIR 9TH ANNUAL VILLAGE TOY DRIVE
First American State Bank held four parties to collect and wrap toy donations to give to Volunteers of America for children in need
The Village Toy Drive was a huge success with 2,100 gifts donated to Volunteers of America with a value of approximately $50,000. This 9th Annual event is presented by First American State Bank and Gruber Commercial Real Estate, Inc.
First American State Bank held 4 separate parties to collect toys. In addition, students and staff at
West Middle School collected 400 gifts this year. Toys are wrapped and bundled together per age group so that each child receives a lovely gift.
The final wrapping party was held on Thursday, December 15th at First American State Bank with Vice President, Michelle Gruber at the helm busily wrapping and responsible for coordinating this amazing toy drive. Every employee along
with Volunteers of America staff, West Middle School students along with other volunteers were on hand to help with the final “wrap up” so that less fortunate families the Denver Metro area would have a wonderful Christmas.
Toys were delivered to Volunteers of America and handed out the Monday before Christmas along with 1,500 Christmas baskets to families in need.
by First American State Bank | Dec 27, 2022 | First American State Bank, News
VOA- THE VIEW – CHAG SAMEACH!
Click HERE to read the latest newsletter from our friends at Volunteers of America – Colorado.
by First American State Bank | Dec 14, 2022 | Cyber Security News, News
From: SANS Security Awareness
Overview
Mobile devices, such as smartphones, smart watches, and tablets, continue to advance and innovate at an astonishing rate. As a result, you may be replacing a new device as often as every year. Unfortunately, you may not realize just how much personal data are on your devices — far more than your computer. Below we cover the different types of data on your mobile devices and how you can securely wipe your device before disposing or replacing it. If your mobile device was issued to you by work, check with your supervisor about disposal procedures first.
Your Information
Your mobile devices store more sensitive data than you realize, to include . . .
Where you live and work, and your daily travel habits.
The contact details for everyone in your address book, including family, friends, and co-workers. Phone call history including inbound, outbound, voicemail, and missed calls.
Texting or chat sessions within applications like secure chat, games, and social media.
Personal photos, videos, and audio recordings.
Stored passwords and access to your accounts, such as your bank, social media, or email. Health related information, including your age, heart rate, or exercise history.
Financial information including credit cards, payment methods, and transactions.
Erasing Your Device
Regardless of how you dispose of your mobile device, such as donating it, exchanging it for a new one, giving it to someone, reselling it, or even recycling it, first erase all of your sensitive information. Do not assume that the next owner will “do the right thing.” The first step is to back up your device so you can recover and transfer all your data and settings to your new device. Once backed up, you will want to reset your device, as this wipes your data and resets it to factory default. During the reset process you may be prompted to enter your cloud password to break any links with that device to the Cloud; be sure to do this. The reset steps below are for the two most common devices — Apple and Android.
Apple iOS Devices: Settings | General | Transfer or Reset | Erase All Content and Settings.
Android Devices: Settings | System | Reset Options | Erase All Data (these options vary depending on your device manufacturer).
SIM & External Cards
In addition to resetting your device, also consider what to do with your SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card. This is the little card in your phone issued to you by your phone carrier; it’s what identifies your device and enables it to make a cellular or data connection. When you wipe your device, the SIM card retains information about your account and is tied to you. If you are keeping your phone number and moving to a new device, talk to your phone service provider about transferring your SIM card. If this is not possible, keep your old SIM card and physically destroy it. Many of today’s modern smartphones having something called an eSIM, which is a virtual SIM card as opposed to a physical SIM. The eSIM is wiped during the reset process.
Finally, some Android mobile devices utilize a removable SD (Secure Digital) card for additional storage. Remove these external storage cards from your mobile device prior to disposal. These cards can often be re-used in new mobile devices, or can be used as generic storage on your computer with a USB adapter. If reusing your SD card is not possible, then just like your old SIM card, we recommend you physically destroy it.
If you are not sure about any of the steps covered above, or if your device reset options are different, take your mobile device to the store from which you bought it from and get help. Finally, if you are throwing a device away, consider donating it instead. There are many excellent charitable organizations that accept used mobile devices, and many mobile providers have drop-off bins in their stores to recycle them.
