News & Updates
Attention Members:
12/10/2023 - We are back online!! We are pleased to announce that online banking is working, and you are now able to see balances and use all features of the app. We are sorry for the lengthy downtime as our vendor worked to get all credits union back online.
12/8/2023 - Major steps are being made. Debit cards are fully functional and back to normal operation. Our shared branching is up and running and operating as usual. Our online banking remains down however we are hopeful it will be fully functional very soon. We appreciate your continued patience as we wade through this situation together. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
12/5/2023 - Positive news today to report. There has been some major progress made. We are anticipating an ETA on when online banking will go live. As soon as we know, we will post it here. We are also being informed we will hopefully have access to our FedComp Server soon, allowing us access to our files. We will keep you informed as information becomes available.
12/4/2023 - Online banking and Shared Branching are still down. We are however seeing progress. FedComp, our data processing solutions provider has been working with the NY Bravest FCU and the 59 other credit unions effected by this outage caused by a ransomware attack to Trellance, the cloud provider to FedComp. FedComp received access to the credit union’s data this weekend, after Trellance completed their forensic investigation, allowing them to start rebuilding. This is unfortunately a lengthy process, as a lot of connections and security procedures need to take place. Please know, you can contact the credit union and receive your up-to-date balances along with having access to all the other services the credit union offers. We continue to provide after hour support and during this outage we have worked to meet all of our member needs and are grateful for the support and patience as we work through this outage together. Again, we are truly sorry for this inconvenience and hopeful that his situation will be resolved soon.
FAQs
What happened? On November 26th, our data processing solutions provider, Fedcomp, experienced technical difficulties and became unavailable due to a ransomware attack impacting its parent company Trellance. This outage effected 60 credit unions throughout the country. Upon discovery, Trellance took immediate action to address and investigate the incident. This caused FedComp to lose access to the server that houses NY Bravest FCU’s data. NY Bravest FCU, was not made aware of the ransomware attack on Trellance until days after, with limited communications from FedComp.
What is FedComp doing? FedComp is currently rebuilding the server on a new cloud environment. This could not start until Trellance did a forensic review of all data. FedComp has received notice as of Saturday that all data has been reviewed which has started the lengthy process of rebuilding. As of 3am Monday (Dec 4th), FedComp has informed us they will start providing credit unions access to the server, however, with 60 credit union effected, this cannot be done in one day. Unfortunately, after we receive access, this does not mean online banking will come back online, this is just the first step of many.
Are Monies Safe? Yes! All monies deposited with the credit union are safe and secure. As always, monies are federally insured by NCUA to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith of the United States Government.
What are we doing? NY Bravest FCU has been working tirelessly to ensure members have access to their up-to-date balances. At the time the system went down we had no access to member data. FedComp was able to provide the credit union with member balances as of November 26th a day into the outage. This meant the credit union could at least provide members their balances as of the 26th, but had no access to future transactions as they occurred. This did not sit well with the credit union Board of Directors or staff. The staff worked day and night and built our own “database.” The balances from the 26th were downloaded into this new database. We were than able to take ACHs, payrolls, and debit card transactions and upload those into the database with no disruption to the members. This gave the staff and members who reached out to the credit union up to date balances. While the other credit unions that were affected by this outage sat and waited, NY Bravest FCU went above and beyond and ensured members felt as little disruption as possible. The credit union is providing after hour support, please call and leave a message or text the CU at 518-453-9748
Notifications: As soon as the credit union was updated and provided access, they posted updates on their website. All credit union data is stored in the secure FedComp Server, this means the credit union does not have access to their daily sites and member emails. Since we still do not have access to the server, we are limited to only posting at this time on our website. Please check periodically for updates there. Note, these notifications are overwritten with each update, for past updates that were posted, you can find them on the credit union website under News & Updates.
Services members have access to: We built a database! Members have access to all services.
Members can deposit and withdrawal monies
Request balances, that include up to date payroll deposits, automatic payment withdrawals, debit card transactions
Write Checks
Send and/or receive Wires
Use their NY Bravest FCU Credit Cards
Use their Debit Cards (since the server is down, the debit cards are not live, which means members have a max amount they can spend of $250, this can be changed by calling the credit union)
Automatic transactions continuing as usual, no disruption
BillPay, if you have automatic payments set up, they will still go out. If you need to send a payment, contact the credit union and we can do it for you
What is not working: With the server being rebuilt and connections being made, members are not able to:
View balances on online banking
Utilize Shared Branching
12/2/2023 - We recently were informed our data processing solutions provider, FedComp’s, data center is experiencing technical difficulties and unavailable due to a ransomware attack impacting its parent company Trellance. Our communications with FedComp have been limited, however we can share their forensic investigation is ongoing and restoration of the services is a high priority. Unfortunately, there is no timeline for when these services will be operational.
At this time there is no indication any data has been impacted. We are working on building our own environment, separate from FedComp, to expedite access to your accounts and have hired outside legal counsel.
The staff is working tirelessly to continue to bring you the services you need and will do so during this whole event. We certainly have appreciated the support that has been given and are looking forward to meeting your full financial needs in the near future. As noted, you are able to conduct business with the credit union, including deposit, withdrawals, balance inquiry by stopping in or calling the credit union, use of credit cards, all automatic payments posting as usual, payroll deposit are being deposited, checks written will continue to clear and wires can be sent. Debit cards are not live, which means there is a max amount that can be spent per day, this can be changed by contacting the credit union. Currently, there is no access to the online banking or share branching.
At this time, we do not know any additional information and will update you as more information becomes available. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we navigate this issue.
Renee Cowan
CEO
12/1/2023 - Due to a National Outage, online banking is still down. Our core processor, Fedcomp, is working around the clock to get their system back up. Even though you are unable to see your balances, we have access at the credit union. Debit cards are not live, meaning there is a max amount you can spend before getting denied. If you are denied, please call or text the credit union and we can increase those limits for you. Over the weekend, we will be providing after hours support, please leave a message or text the credit union and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
Even though the online banking is down, you are still able to make electronic payments using the credit unions routing number, payrolls are being deposited into your account, you can still write checks, debit cards can be used to make purchases, credit union credit cards are working as usual and any automatic payments you have set up to come out of your CU account will occur as usual.
The staff at the credit union are truly sorry for the inconvenience and are working diligently into the night. This outage is not the fault of the credit union, we haven’t made any changes recently and have been using the same core processor since the 1980s. Updates have been limited. During that time, we have rebuilt our own system, which even impressed our regulators, the National Credit Union Association. While many credit unions are in the complete blind, we made sure we would not sit idle, we as always strive to provide the best service to our membership with the resources we have.
As soon as new information is forthcoming, we will be keeping you informed. All monies are available at your request. If you have any concerns or requests, please call the credit union and we will try to meet everyone’s needs on a need basis. We appreciate your understating and commitment to the credit union.
Credit union number: 518-453-9748
11/29/2023 - We are currently experiencing an outage in our system which affects our mobile banking. The outage is nationawide and affecting hundreds of Credit Unions. Our IT business partner, Ongoing Operations LLC, dba. Trellance, is working diligently on a solution. We have progressed to the point that we are able to see your account balances and the debit and credit transactions within. Please call the Credit Union if you would like to know any of your account information.
We can assure you that your accounts are safe and secure and we are working on a resolution as fast as possible.
Thank you for your patience and we truly apologize for the inconvenience. - NY Bravest FCU Staff
