ME Bank enhances security with IBM Security solutions

Based in Melbourne, Australia, and employing approximately 800 people, ME Bank is a 100 percent Australian-owned bank. Regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), ME Bank was established by industry super funds, bringing customers low-cost, no-commission banking. The bank is proud to provide a genuine banking alternative and a fairer way to bank.

The need
To pursue the goal of growing its customer base, ME Bank needed to upgrade or replace its existing financial applications with more security-rich and efficient technology. The bank had so many systems that staff members often had to log in to more than 20 applications during their workday.

Each system had its own authentication and authorization database, so it was extremely time-consuming to determine who had access to which systems and what level of access each user had. When auditors checked system-access security, producing the necessary reports became onerous. The bank also needed to ensure that employees who left the organization could no longer access applications containing sensitive financial and customer data.

Manually reporting information to auditors was a major undertaking for management. Executives quickly concluded that they needed enterprise-class software with integrated workflow and intelligence to help with employees’ identity and access management. With better access control, the bank hoped to increase security and reduce fraud potential.

The solution
ME Bank engaged IBM to implement an identity and access management solution based on IBM^® Security Access Manager and IBM Security Identity Manager software. With this security-rich IBM solution, ME Bank was able to establish an automated workflow around employees’ access to and deactivation from the bank’s applications. Managers can easily view and generate reports outlining which staff members have what levels of access to applications, simplifying day-to-day operations and responses to auditors’ requests. When employees leave the organization, managers can simply terminate access to all applications, reducing the bank’s risk of fraud and introducing an increased level of security.
Productivity levels improved because employees no longer have to manually log in to several applications or spend up to two hours waiting for the service desk to reset all the application passwords. Each employee now has convenient single sign-on and self-service password reset. This allows the bank’s workforce to move more efficiently toward growth and innovation rather than spending time managing a multitude of passwords.

The benefits
• Slashes employees’ password reset times from one hour to only five minutes, a 92 percent decrease
• Reduces by 90 percent the time needed to grant new hires access to applications, from two weeks to the first day of work
• Boosts employee productivity, allowing the bank to work toward increased growth and enhanced innovation

For more information
To learn more about IBM Security solutions, please contact your IBM marketing representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website, ibm.com/security.