Security is our focus.
POPA FCU’s Online Banking system provides a secure environment for Members to conduct financial transactions online. We have implemented a number of security measures and procedures, and continued to implement new security technology, to ensure that Members’ financial and personal information is kept safe, secure, and confidential at all times.
Through a protocol known as the Secure Sockets Layer, other computers are prevented from eavesdropping by encrypting all data transmitted between our Members and the Credit Union. Intermediate computers would see each packet of information as a meaningless jumble of bytes. The sending end encrypts, or encodes, the data with one key before it is transmitted. The receiving end decrypts, or decodes, the data with another key. This two-key cryptography scheme was developed by a team of mathematicians at MIT and is currently patented by RSA Data Security, Inc. POPA FCU’s Members that live in the United States can use browsers that support 128-bit keys. Cracking a 128-bit key would involve trying all 2128 combinations.
The Secure Sockets Layer validates the identity of our site to our Members through the use of a digital certificate. After connecting to our web site in secure mode, our site sends the Member’s browser a signed digital certificate, which contains the name of our web server, its public encryption key, the certificate’s validity dates, the name of the certification authority that issued the digital certificate to our site, and an unforgettable digital signature. The digital certificate, which was obtained by POPA FCU through a special certification authority, authenticates to our Members that they are indeed connecting to our site.
The Secure Sockets Layer ensures that the data transmitted between our Members and our site has not been tampered with through the use of Message Authentication Codes (MACs). A MAC is based on the actual data itself, similar to a checksum. This provides a quick way for the receiving end to verify that the data wasn’t changed en route.
To support the Secure Sockets Layer, POPA FCU Members must use the most recent browser versions available.
When you submit information through an online form, we’ll encrypt it to keep your information secure. In other words, we scramble your details and decode it when we receive it. Please make sure your web session is secure by looking for a small lock symbol in the address bar of your web browser. Current versions of leading web browsers use this symbol to indicate when a web page is encrypted. You may also look for the letters “https://” at the beginning of your website URL in your web browser. The “s” means that the web connection is secure.
We ask that you do not send us confidential information, such as Social Security Numbers or account numbers, through an unsecured email. Please send such communications to us through postal mail, call us at 562-229-9181 or 800-369-7672, or visit one of our branches.
Membership at POPA FCU gives you access to any of our convenient products and services, such as online banking, bill pay, direct deposit, and so much more. You also receive one vote during an election at our annual membership meeting.
