Wednesday Buzz: The Rise of .BANK

Cybersecurity remains a key challenge for financial institutions, with cybercrime potentially threatening banks, investors, and customers alike. A number of measures have been adopted over the years to improve financial security, from EMV to basic best practices.

Now a new cybersecurity tool is gaining steam. fTLD  (opens in a new tab) Registry Services Managing Director Craig Schwartz and BITS  (opens in a new tab) President Chris Feeney detailed the industry’s progress in a blog post for the Financial Services Roundtable  (opens in a new tab).

“For banks, registering and implementing a .BANK domain name should be part of an overall cyber risk strategy,” they advise. “The domain is owned and governed by the financial services industry and can only be used by verified members of the industry.”

Financial institutions are rapidly adopting this safety measure. So far, more than 2,500 banks have registered a .BANK domain, the use of which is tethered to strict security requirements to protect customers and institutions. But despite the momentum, .BANK is just one part of the equation.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach, nor is there a silver bullet to stop cyber criminals,” Schwartz and Feeney write, but that hasn’t put a damper on their expectations that 2016 could be a banner year for the financial industry’s cybersecurity efforts.

Stat of the Day

That’s the percentage of U.S. hotels that allowed pets in 2014, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association  (opens in a new tab), an increase of 10 percent since 2006. The growth is part of a larger trend of hotels trying to be more accommodating to pet owners, as detailed by this Reuters piece  (opens in a new tab).

Other Good Reads

The glory days of frequent-flier benefits may have passed, according to travel expert Gary Leff’s analysis of the state of perks in 2016  (opens in a new tab), in an article for View from the Wing.

Looking to improve online registrations? Becki Cross, deputy editor of Event Manager Blog, will host a webinar  (opens in a new tab) on that very topic.

Finding your messages are being lost amid the clutter? Communications expert Kristen Parker shares her thoughts  (opens in a new tab) on how to break through, in a post for Event Garde.

(epSos .de/Flickr)