For the first time in nearly half a dozen years, the feds who oversee banks have issues new rules for online security at financial insitutions.

Top of the list: using minimal types of “layered security” and fraud monitoring to guard against the rising tide of cybercrime.

The recommendation for multi-factor authentication for business customers should be a no-brainer for any institution handling other folks money, but the feds obviously found that some banks don’t bother. And the guidelines tell banks that two elements of authentication is a minimum.

The rules come from Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and you can can visit their website to download a pdf of the new guidelines.

Be aware: The FFIEC says bank examiners will be checking up on whether these guidelines are being followed as of January 2012. That’s six months from now, in case you don’t have a calendar handy.

Tags: authentication, banking, cybercrime, electronic banking, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, guidelines, new, online, rules, two-factor