Albert L. Fort

0001180845 FORT ALBERT L 1190 ATOCHA WAY VERO BEACH FL 32963 0 1 0 0 Senior Vice President

Albert L. FortSenior Vice President

Albert Fort, senior vice president of operations and systems for Harbor Federal Savings Bank, said, in the six years that the bank has offered online banking services, there have been no losses.

Harbor Federal requires its online-banking customers to visit a branch and fill out several documents before they begin using their computers for financial transactions.The bank also uses a system of firewalls to keep out hackers.

And, two or three times a year, Fort said the bank hires a company -- whom he won't identify -- to try to penetrate the system.So far, the company hasn't been able to break in from the outside, he said.

There have been real hacking attempts, Fort said.

In fact, every day, someone on a computer in some part of the world tries to surreptitiously get into the bank's system to snatch information or steal funds.

"We get a number of hits," Fort said.

Mr. Albert L. Fort , Sr. VP of Operations

Albert L. Fort - SVP Operations

"We have very detailed contingency plans which we update regularly," said Albert Fort, senior vice president of operations and systems at Harbor Federal.

The workers violated the bank's policy on how to act during a robbery, putting themselves, customers and other employees at risk, said Albert Fort, Harbor Federal senior vice president.

"We have a standard within the bank that you do not chase people," Fort said."If something was to happen to the individual ... wouldn't we all look stupid?"

Fort said he blamed the lack of judgment on a new branch manager who hasn't been trained in proper procedures.

Insurance covers most of the money lost by theft, making it even more unnecessary for employees to risk their lives, Fort said.