Business communications vendor Avaya has signed a deal with Bank of Ireland (BoI) to deploy security assessment services across the bank’s direct banking business BoI 365. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Last year 44pc of all European enterprises experienced at least one malicious security breach, the most common causes being viruses and hacking of unsecured networks. According to The Yankee Group the cost of a security breach is highest in the banking community with the average cost being €1.75m.
Avaya carried out an independent security audit on the bank’s telephony system in the second half of 2003. Following the audit, Avaya’s Global Services business designed and implemented new measures to further improve BoI 365’s IVR security. The work was undertaken over a two week period, combining on-site and remote engineers working to ensure the security of telephony hardware and software.
David Sheehan, operations manager at BoI 365, said: “The work that Avaya has implemented ensures our customers get a fast and most importantly, a secure service when using BoI 365’s phone banking service. The security audit is improving our awareness of network security –VF we have already noticed how security processes and practices have improved.”
John Sharpe, director for Avaya in Ireland, added: “As communications technology continues to move towards converged networks, the security of a company’s voice network becomes as important as securing data devices and applications. This is especially true for financial institutions such as BoI 365 whose reputation amongst customers would suffer should a security breach occur.”
In addition to Avaya’s secure communication services, BoI 365 uses a range of Avaya systems at its Dublin headquarters and Kilkenny location. In future, BoI 365 plans to migrate to Avaya internet protocol telephony at its Dublin and Kilkenny locations to enhance communication and provide greater flexibility to support its business.
By John Kennedy
