Mobile Banking Security - Sept 11

Jeff Salway: Banking bandwagon not such a safe ride
"I WAS recently accused by a friend – a self-confessed geek – of being scared of new technology; I prefer to believe I’m just too cynical to jump on the latest high-tech bandwagon. That includes mobile banking, which is one bandwagon the banks would very much like us all to leap on to, and in this case my cynicism may be more than justified. Mobile banking refers to the use of mobile phones and other handheld devices, such as tablets, to make payments, transfer money, check statements and so on. The UK is lagging behind in this area, but our banks are eager to catch up and are ploughing millions into mobile banking development."

Banker beware: SIM swapping con targets mobile accounts
"It's amazing in its own way — despite constant warnings from their financial institutions to never, ever provide sensitive information by phone or email, customers continue to do just that. That dynamic, whether caused by gullibility or laziness, has only helped scammers, who've been perfecting their craft since time immemorial. One of the latest cons is SIM swapping, which is the second phase of a phishing scam. Though not as profitable as large-scale hacking and skimming, it appeals to criminal gangs looking for a low-cost, low-risk, high-reward, EMV-circumventing racket."

USERNAME AND PASSWORD AUTHENTICATION BORDERS ON NEGLIGENCE IN MOBILE BANKING
"Earlier this week the Financial Conduct Authority announced that it will be publishing a full report in to mobile banking early next year, by revealing its initial findings and the potential risks to consumers concerning fraud, cybercrime and user error. In an article published by the BBC, the Director of Supervision at the FCA, Clive Adamson, states that: 'With the market growing, now is the right time for us to take stock and, as part of the FCA’s forward looking approach, to ensure that consumers are appropriately protected.'”

New 'Hesperbot' bank Trojan targets mobile authentication systems
"Security firm ESET is warning of an ambitious new banking Trojan designed to beat the mobile multi-factor authentication systems rolled out to defeat an older generation of malware. Named Spy.Hesperbot after its discovery in Mid-August, the Trojan comes with the usual tricks such as keylogging, video capture and html injection but adds cleverness in the form of a remote control VNC server and a mobile app for Symbian, Blackberry or Android smartphones."

UK mobile payments held back by security and complexity
"With only one in five UK consumers using their mobile to make payments, new research suggests that the technology is being held back by consumer fears over security, lengthy sign-up processes and problems making payments outside of individual schemes. Mobile payments specialist firm Zapp carried out a survey of 2,000 UK consumers, and found that 17% of them had made a mobile payment. Of these, some 60% were limited to simple bank transfers between accounts, rather than paying for goods and services. Of those making payments, one in five said there are not enough people and places to make payments and 18% said it was difficult to pay people who don’t use the same mobile payment system."