Online banking still has many security issues.
About 80% of U.S. households have come to do their banking over the Internet, banking consultancy Novantas says. Many consumers believe online banking is every bit as safe as branch banking. But that's clearly not the case, banking and tech security specialists say.
Cyberattacks against individual online accounts have become so sophisticated and pervasive that the American Bankers Association (ABA) is now asking consumers to "partner" with banks to keep cyberrobbers in check.
The banking industry wants consumers to monitor their online accounts for unauthorized transactions on a "continuous, almost daily, basis," says Doug Johnson, the ABA's vice president of risk-management policy. That's because PCs and smartphones have become "the online bank branch for a lot of individuals," he says. "The customer needs to really recognize that security is most effective when they work in partnership with their financial institution."
Even so, cyberrobbery has evolved into a multifaceted, multibillion-dollar global industry that shows little sign of cooling. Last year, the number of malicious software programs designed to pilfer online bank accounts — referred to as banking Trojans — rose to 65,098 in December, up from 4,295 at the start of 2009, according to Panda Security, a Madrid-based antivirus software supplier.
Writers of malicious software code are prolific, always focusing on new ways to get past the latest defenses erected by banks and antivirus companies, says Panda Security researcher Sean-Paul Correll.
A 2009 ABA survey of 170 U.S. banks revealed that 85% of big banks are incurring losses stemming from cyberattacks on consumer online accounts. Banks responding to the survey rated the "threat level" of online attacks at 2.58 on a scale of zero to five; that's up from a 1.84 rating in 2007.
"Every single bank I've talked to in the last six months, big and small, has seen these attacks," says Avivah Litan, banking security analyst at research firm Gartner. "It's an arms race. There are solutions — until the next kind of attack comes along. And if you're caught in the middle, you're screwed."
Citibank and Bank of America rank third and seventh among the top 10 most frequently attacked banks in the world, according to Kaspersky Lab. Each uses a variety of security systems and relies on consumers to help protect their online accounts.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-07-29-online-banking-security_N.htm