Website Security Policy

1st United Credit Union is committed to protecting our members' financial and user information. We use state-of-the-art security technology and are confident that your personal information will remain secure.

Virtual security is the prevention of data interception upon transmission. The security of the communications between you (your browser) and our servers is ensured using cryptography. Cryptography scrambles messages exchanged between your browser and our online banking server. Encryption happens as follows: When you go to the sign-on page for online banking, your browser establishes a secure session with our server. The secure session is established using a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encryption. This protocol requires the exchange of what are called public and private keys. Keys are random numbers chosen for that session and are only known between your browser and our server. After the keys are exchanged, your browser will use the numbers to scramble (encrypt) the messages sent between your browser and our server. Both sides require the keys because they need to descramble (decrypt) the messages when they are received. The SSL protocol, not only ensures privacy, but also ensures that no other browser can "impersonate" your browser, nor alter any of the information sent. You can tell whether your browser is in secure mode by looking for the secured lock symbol at the bottom of your browser window and the URL (website address) changing from http to https.

The numbers used as encryption keys are analogous to combination locks. The strength of encryption is based on the number of possible combinations that a lock can have.

As the number of possible combinations grows, it becomes less likely that anyone would be able to guess the combination in order to decrypt the message. Today's browsers offer 128-bit encryption. We require the use of 128-bit capable browsers.

Physical security refers to objects and measures that insure the security of our site, server and databases. The network architecture used to provide the online banking service was designed by certified network security professionals. While the architecture is too complex to explain here, it is important to point out that the computers that store your actual account information are not directly connected to the Internet. The requests you make through the Internet are handled by our servers, which retrieve the information you requested from our mainframe via proxy-based firewall servers. These servers act as the go-between you and our mainframe computers. Our data center is a physically secure and protected area from access by unauthorized persons.

It is also important to verify that only authorized persons log into online banking. This is achieved by verifying your password. When you submit your password, it is compared with the password we have stored in our secure data center. We allow you to enter your password incorrectly five (5) times. If you enter your password incorrectly five (5) times, your online banking account will be temporarily locked for 1 hour. If you need to access your account right away, you can call the Member Contact Center or simply wait the 1 hour before attempting to login again. After 1 hour, you can attempt to log into online banking again. Should you enter your password incorrectly five (5) more times, you will be prompted to call the Member Contact Center. We monitor and record "bad-login" attempts to detect any suspicious activity (i.e., someone trying to guess your password).

We provide a number of additional security features in online banking. Online banking will "timeout" after ten (10) minutes of inactivity. This prevents other persons from continuing your online banking session in case you have left your computer unattended without signing out. However, we recommend that you always sign out when you have completed your online banking session. Active online banking users will be signed out after 24 hours. Active mobile banking users will not be signed out.

You play a crucial role in preventing others from logging on to your account. Never use passwords that are easy to guess. Examples of bad passwords are: birth dates, first names, pet names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, etc. Never reveal your password to another person. You should periodically change your online banking password.