An independent cybersecurity review across many of New York’s largest banks reveals a wide range of results. These institutions hold customers’ deposits and financial data, yet many show meaningful gaps in basic email authentication.
Using data from audit.emailmenow.com, we evaluated each bank’s domain across email, website, and network security — including SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MTA-STS/TLS, and security headers.
Cybersecurity Scores of Major New York Banks
Overall compliance scores from audit.emailmenow.com. Re-run any domain at the link to verify.
| Rank | Bank | Domain | Overall Score | Performance Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Community Bank, N.A. | cbna.com | 89% | Strong |
| 2 | Apple Bank | applebank.com | 70% | Strong |
| 3 | NBT Bank | nbtbank.com | 63% | Above Average |
| 4 | Flushing Bank | flushingbank.com | 61% | Above Average |
| 4 | Five Star Bank | five-starbank.com | 61% | Above Average |
| 6 | M&T Bank | mtb.com | 54% | Average |
| 6 | Trustco Bank | trustcobank.com | 54% | Average |
| 6 | Amalgamated Bank | amalgamatedbank.com | 54% | Average |
| 9 | Dime Community Bank | dime.com | 50% | Below Average |
| 10 | Emigrant Bank | emigrant.com | 48% | Below Average |
| 11 | Tompkins Community Bank | tompkinsbank.com | 30% | Weakest |
What the Results Reveal
- Scores range from 89% (Community Bank, N.A.) down to 30% — Community Bank is far ahead of the field, with Apple Bank (70%) the only other New York bank in the strong tier and NBT Bank close behind at 63%.
- M&T Bank, the largest New York-headquartered bank, sits mid-pack at 54%, while Tompkins (30%) trails badly at the bottom.
- Without an enforced DMARC policy, criminals can spoof the bank’s own domain to phish customers or to send fraudulent “wire update” instructions to commercial clients.
Why This Matters for Banks
Banks are bound by the GLBA Safeguards Rule, FFIEC examination guidance, and — for New York-regulated institutions — the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR 500). Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and an enforced DMARC policy) is the single highest-impact control against the business email compromise (BEC) and wire fraud that target bank customers and commercial accounts.
Check any bank’s posture at audit.emailmenow.com/?industry=financial-advisors.
See also — national audit
Recommendations
- Enforce DMARC (
p=reject), strict SPF (-all), and DKIM signing. - Add MTA-STS and website security headers.
- Adopt verified call-back procedures for any change to wiring instructions, and train customer-facing and commercial staff.
Stop fraud before it starts. Run a free Instant Cybersecurity Audit at audit.emailmenow.com/?industry=financial-advisors.
Contact EmailMeNow IT Consulting for help with GLBA- and NYDFS-aligned email security hardening.
Source & methodology: Overall compliance scores from the free scan at audit.emailmenow.com — each domain checked for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), transport security (MTA-STS/TLS), website security headers, and network security. Re-run any domain at the link to verify.