Queensborough National Bank & Trust has been protecting customers for over 120 years. Every day, cybersecurity warriors like Laura Nelson (Queensborough Information Security Officer) and Travis Collins (Queensborough Chief Technology Officer) face and vanquish new threats to help keep our customers safe!

Some of the safeguards in place for Queensborough customers and partners include:

• User access controls that prevent unauthorized account access
• Frequent security patches to stay up to date with the latest anti-hacker tools
• Regular firewall reviews to validate the AI remains robust enough to detect and deter threats
• Secure offsite data storage for expedited disaster recovery and breach recovery capabilities
• Vendor monitoring to ensure due diligence and customer data protection
• Communication to warn customers when new phishing scams arise

How Has Queensborough Overcome Cybersecurity Threats Over the Years?

"We proactively mitigate risks by educating our employees prior to these interactions. Educating employees is huge”, states Travis Collins.

But employee turnover is a significant challenge, and it isn’t unique to our bank. In fact, the media is calling this the year of the ‘Great Resignation’ which means organizations of all sizes are experiencing turnover and the challenge of training new employees. The cybersecurity team constantly works to train new and existing staff on how to avoid the latest phishing scam and how to recognize hacking and malware attacks.

The .Bank Domain Is More Secure Than .Com

QNBT uses .bank for our website domain name. There are a number of advantages of using this restricted, bank-only, domain versus a more accessible domain such as .com. Customers can rest assured that an email ending in @qnbtrust.bank is legitimate.

Created in 2015 by banking and security experts, the .bank domain represents a trusted foundation used by thousands of banks, according to the American Bankers Association. Queensborough utilizes it for secure, effective online communication with customers and other parties.

Queensborough Leverages the Customer Relationship to Protect Consumers

Tips from Chief Technology Officer Travis Collins:

1. “Know who you are doing business with. As a community bank, that's one of the things that we pride ourselves on. We know our customer base. At the same time, I think other businesses have to know who they're doing business with to help prevent breaches.” Most of our customers know when certain emails come, such as online statements, and they know the names of people from the bank wanting to communicate with them.
2. “If you see grammatical errors in an email or email address and are not expecting to get an email from the bank, that’s a sign that you should call the bank to see if the email is legitimate. For added security, you can Google the contact information rather than trust the information provided in the email.” The cybersecurity team at the bank works hard to isolate internal and external emails. Protections include setting up user groups to limit access to sensitive data.

How Can You Protect Yourself from Cybersecurity Threats?

Here are some additional ways you can protect yourself:

• Bank customers should never open an email that looks like it’s from us if they see a .com URL. This is a red alert!
• Our bank will NEVER ask for confidential information in an email (so don’t provide it via email).

• Cybercriminals have developed smart ways to disguise dangerous emails. Customers can block .zip files and implement web filtering tools that include popup alerts for potentially dangerous emails. Then, they can delete them before they cause a problem.
• Use a strong, unique password for each account you have online. Include numbers, letters, and characters that are hard to guess. Avoid including birthdays, home addresses, and other common information.
• Change your password regularly and keep it to yourself. Password management apps can really help you maintain a reliable and robust password strategy.
• Log out of bank websites and email accounts rather than merely closing the pages when you are done.

Queensborough Goes Above and Beyond to Safeguard Customers Online

Queensborough National Bank & Trust uses advanced technology, intricate firewalls, and best practices to protect customers and prevent them from falling prey to cyber scams. Multifactor authentication that uses two ways to identify customers, encrypted code only bank computers can read, and fraud prevention tools all make Queensborough a safe place to secure your wealth.

Contact us today for additional tips and tricks to protect your banking information and assets. You can also stop by your local branch to discuss other ways dedicated employees like Travis Collins and Laura Nelson protect the customers in their care.