Sheila C. Bair Chairman FDIC Biography VIDEO

Sheila C. Bair Born: c. 1953, was sworn in as the 19th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on June 26, 2006. She was appointed Chairman for a five-year term, and as a member of the FDIC Board of Directors through July 2013.

Before her appointment to the FDIC, Ms. Bair was the Dean's Professor of Financial Regulatory Policy for the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst since 2002. Her Academic and Professional Activities were: Member, ATC Advisory Committee, National Association of Securities Dealers, Washington, DC, Board Member, Center for Responsible Lending, Durham, NC, Board Member, Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA), Washington, DC. Research Grants: MassMutual, Fannie Mae Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, The Casey Foundation. Syllabus FOMGT 330 PDF

Other career experience includes serving as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2001 to 2002), Senior Vice President for Government Relations of the New York Stock Exchange (1995 to 2000), a Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1991 to 1995), and Research Director, Deputy Counsel and Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (1981 to 1988). While an academic, Chairman Bair also served on the FDIC's Advisory Committee on Banking Policy.

Chairman Bair's prior work focused heavily on the banking sector. As the Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions, she was charged with helping to develop the Administration's positions on banking policy issues.

Interview with Sheila C. Bair, Chair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, at the 2008 'State of the Valley' Conference, San Jose, CA.

She worked closely with Treasury's own banking regulatory bureaus, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, as well as the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC. Ms. Bair's teaching and research at the University of Massachusetts also dealt extensively with banking and related issues.

Ms. Bair has served as a member of several professional and nonprofit organizations, including the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, Women in Housing and Finance, Center for Responsible Lending, NASD Ahead-of-the-Curve Advisory Committee, Massachusetts Savings Makes Cents, American Bar Association, Exchequer Club, and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Five months after becoming Chairman, Ms. Bair was named to The Wall Street Journal magazine Smart Money's (November 2006) “Power 30” list – the magazine's lineup of the 30 most influential people in investing. Chairman Bair has also received several honors for her published work on financial issues, including her educational writings on money and finance for children, and for professional achievement. Among the honors she has received are: Distinguished Achievement Award, Association of Education Publishers (2005); Personal Service Feature of the Year, and Author of the Month Awards, Highlights Magazine for Children (2002, 2003 and 2004); and The Treasury Medal (2002). Her first book – Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock, a publication for children – was published in 2006.

Her first book – Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock, a publication for children – was published in 2006. This was followed by Isabel's Car Wash in 2008. Both titles show children good examples of money management.

In 2008 Forbes ranked her as the second most powerful woman in the world behind German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Chairman Bair received a bachelor's degree from Kansas University (1975) and a J.D. from Kansas University School of Law (1978). She is married to Scott P. Cooper and has two children.

SOURCES:

• Board of Directors & Senior Executives
• Fix Rates to Save Loans
• The 100 Most Powerful Women
• Nominations Sent to the Senate
• Sheila C. Bair
• Isenberg School of Management: Department of Finance and Operations Management Sheila Bair
• KQED Public Media

New study highlights risk of fake popup warnings for Internet users

Real Windows Security Warning

A new study by researchers at North Carolina State University shows that most Internet users are unable to distinguish genuine popup warnings messages from false ones – even after repeated mistakes. The fake ones were designed to trick users into downloading harmful software.

"This study demonstrates how easy it is to fool people on the Web," says study co-author Dr. Michael S. Wogalter, professor of psychology at NC State. The study examined the responses of undergraduate students to real and fake warning messages while they did a series of search tasks on a personal computer connected to the Internet.

Typical Fake Pop-up Warning

The real warning messages simulated local Windows operating system warnings, whereas fake messages were popup messages emanating from an exterior source via the Internet.

Real Windows Security Alert

The physical differences between the real and the fake messages were subtle, and most participants did not discern them. Participants were fooled by the fake messages 63 percent of the time, hitting the "OK" button in the message box when it appeared on the screen despite being told that some of what they would be seeing would be false.

The ways people responded could potentially open them up to malevolent software, such as spyware or a computer virus, Wogalter says. Safer options, such as simply closing the message box, were infrequently chosen. The study was led by psychology graduate student David Sharek and co-authored by undergraduate Cameron Swofford.

Typical Fake Pop-up Alert

Wogalter notes that companies and other credible entities may want to incorporate additional unique features into the real messages to allow people to differentiate between genuine warning messages and fake popups. However, he says, "I don't know if you could develop a legitimate message that could not be duplicated and used illegitimately."

Wogalter says the results of the study highlight the need to educate Internet users to be cautious. "Be suspicious when things pop up," Wogalter says. "Don't click OK – close the box instead." ###

The study was published Sept. 22 in Proceedings of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Note to editors: The study abstract follows.

"Failure to Recognize Fake Internet Popup Warning Messages"
Authors: David Sharek, Cameron Swofford and Michael Wogalter, North Carolina State University.
Published: Sept. 22 in Proceedings of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Abstract: "Warning, your computer is infected with spyware. Windows needs to download and install the anti-spyware updates to remedy this issue. Click OK to begin." This is just one example of many popup warnings that spyware and malware creators use to try to mislead unsuspecting Internet users into downloading potentially harmful software. Falling prey to an illegitimate message could produce negative consequences that vary from bothersome computer performance to complete system failure. The purpose of this study was to determine which visual design cues, if any, would alert people to the illegitimacy of fake popup warning windows while browsing the Internet. Results indicated that most people did not behave in a cautious manner upon presentation of three different fake popup warning windows. Implications of the research are discussed.

Contact: Matt Shipman matt_shipman@ncsu.edu 919-515-3470 North Carolina State University