Outsourcing appeals to banks hoping to boost agility and competitiveness. But after a year in which third-party partners were blamed for a series of high-profile security breaches, outsourcing's image needs a buff job. A new program from an international banking consortium will make it easier to identify which outsourcers play by the security rules—and which ones do not.

Who Can Banks Trust?

Outsourcing can help banks respond more quickly to changing market conditions and more efficiently invest limited IT resources. The risks of using non-secure third parties—which include lost customer trust and increased liability—could cancel any potential benefits.

An oversight in 2005 by CardSystems, a transaction processing firm engaged by some of the largest financial services institutions in North America, resulted in the potential exposure of 40 million client records. When the initial furor gave way to longer-term introspection, banks were left wondering whether any outsourcer could...