Think Stack

04/24/2023

Think|Stack is excited to announce the appointment of Jen Anthony as Vice President, Security and Risk.

In this role, Anthony will lead Think|Stack’s consulting services which include virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), virtual Chief Information Officer (CIO), and cybersecurity training to improve clients’ security posture among a growing threat landscape. She will oversee the technical teams as they identify, analyze, manage, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risk.

In this role, Anthony will lead Think|Stack’s consulting services which include virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), virtual Chief Information Officer (CIO), and cybersecurity training to improve clients’ security posture among a growing threat landscape. She will oversee the techn...

03/09/2023

Credit unions navigating leadership changes must keep IT a primary focus - technology is the hub through which daily operations occur.

Our final key area of focus:

Create a 1/3/5/10 Year Strategic IT Roadmap.
Create a 1/3/5/10 year strategic IT roadmap that matches your vision to your budget. Transformative change cannot be completed in year one. Every credit union is different, but to make lasting change, leaders need to chart out a flexible but realistic IT plan 5 to10 years ahead. That roadmap will allow the organization to prioritize those areas that pose the biggest risk while making sure your team is achieving its goals. A strategic IT roadmap offers your staff, and your board, clarity on what you want to accomplish, keeping everyone aligned.

As your credit union navigates a leadership transition and plans for a future vision for your members, it is important to make sure that IT strategy is at the center of every conversation.

03/07/2023

Key area of focus #4 for transitioning leaders of credit unions:
Know Your Budget and What You Can Afford.
As new leadership develops a clear vision for the near and distant future, it will be necessary to create a short-term, and long-term IT budget. A vision without the right resources could stall, delay or prevent progress and action.

03/01/2023

Key area of focus #3 for transitioning leaders of credit unions:

Identify (And Protect Against) The Biggest Threats to Your Credit Union.

The fun part of Strategic IT Planning is exploring new technologies, efficiencies, and ways to serve your members. The less fun part of IT, but perhaps the most important part, is protecting your assets from external attacks that could bring operations to a halt. From ransomware attacks to social engineering/phishing scams, make sure you have a plan for how to protect your IT if, and when, an attack happens.

02/28/2023

Credit unions navigating leadership changes must keep IT a primary focus - technology is the hub through which daily operations occur.

Key area number 2:
Identify What to Keep or Migrate and What Is Duplicate or Obsolete.

New leadership presents an opportunity for the credit union to explore new possibilities. What hardware will you need? How will you handle technical support? How can you leverage the cloud for better security and scalability? What will you assign to internal, full-time IT staff, and what can be better accomplished with partners and vendors?

02/22/2023

The credit union industry is experiencing an increased turnover in leadership as a result of mergers and acquisitions, or the appointment of new CEOs or Presidents. Often lost in the early days of transition is the criticality of IT. Over the next week we will share key areas of focus for credit union leaders.

1) Document and Take Stock What You Have.

Having a clear snapshot of the state of your hardware, software applications, data, and security stance can quickly help you identify the biggest areas that need your attention when it comes to technology.

01/20/2023

The third and final Top IT project to consider in 2023 for smaller credit unions to improve their competitive advantage!

3) Password-less Identity Access & Management Implementation

Password-less authentication refers to a method of verifying a user's identity without the use of a password.

It can be difficult to think of new passwords and with so many devices and apps requiring them, a real challenge to remember them all. However, strong passwords are extremely important to protecting personal and professional data and devices.

Password or credential stuffing is a cyberattack that tries “stuffing” already comprised username and passwords from one site into another site in hopes that the user uses the same login information across platforms.

A password-less solution improves user experiences by eliminating password and secrets fatigue, and providing unified access to all applications and services. This also strengthens security by eliminating risky password management techniques and reducing credential theft and impersonation.

Contact us to learn more!

01/19/2023

Top IT projects to consider in 2023 for smaller credit unions

2) VoIP Phone System Implementation

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.

As credit unions expand remote work options and manage growing distributed workforces, VoIP software integrates well with desktop computers for use as “softphones” which provide more accessibility for employees who are working remotely. VoIP creates a more flexible and redundant system without having to buy costly hardware that must be maintained and eventually replaced.

Contact us to learn more!

01/17/2023

Digital transformation is a journey - are you curious to know what IT projects are trending for smaller credit unions in 2023? We will share 3 over the next week!

1) Backup/Redundant ISP Implementation
A backup internet service provider (ISP) is a secondary internet service provider you can rely on in case your primary link goes down.

Outages happen and they can occur anywhere at any time. Most credit unions couldn't last more than a few hours without internet access, therefore, it's critical to have a backup ISP in the event your primary connection goes down. It's vital to the service of your members to avoid internet outages and to keep your credit union running smoothly.

Contact us to learn more!

12/09/2022

Check out this interview with our Director of Cybersecurity Michael Seidelman!
https://www.cubroadcast.com/episodes/3076-how-to-combat-todays-cyber-threats-for-credit-union-members-and-staff

12/07/2022

Our Director of Cybersecurity, Michael Seidelman, shares tips for mitigating cyber risk with employee and customer training in an article published by CU Times.

https://www.thinkstack.co/news/cyber-training-cu-times

11/29/2022

We are honored to be recognized by Amazon Web Services as a Public Sector Partner of the Year!!

Announced during a Partner Awards Gala at AWS re:Invent, the 2022 AWS Partner Awards recognize a wide range of AWS Partners which have embraced specialization, innovation, and collaboration over the past year. AWS Partner Awards honor partners whose business models continue to evolve and thrive on A...