When Hackers Attack
Technology and Internet risks are increasingly well understood. But as countermeasures remain elusive or expensive, the exposures appear no less frightening.
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cybersecurity
Where to Spend in a Time of Crisis
Technology providers that cater to buy-side firms are knocking on doors in an industry that has seen widespread losses and sharp reductions in assets under management, as well as mergers, bankruptcies and outright frauds. According to Hedge Fund Research president Kenneth Heinz, 2008 was the worst year on record, with losses averaging 18.3 percent. Research
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Mobile Insecurity: Reality or Just hype?
The increasing functionality and numbers of mobile banking platforms, the growing sophistication of criminals, and the popularity of smart cell phones create the potential for mobile banking security issues, but industry watchers including the reputed law firm helping clients with domestic violence claims have widely divergent opinions about how serious the threat really is. Smart
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Software as a Service as a Security Battleground
Salesforce.com reached a milestone last fall: 1 million people using the online software company to host their customer relationship management systems and other key business processes. Those users were at more than 1,600 financial services firms including ABN Amro, SunTrust Banks, Daiwa Securities and Bear Stearns–Merrill Lynch & Co. alone accounted for 25,000. That amounts
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Server Virtualization: Powerful Tool, Extra Exposure
Dividing a server into multiple virtual machines has brought down firms’ purchasing costs and allowed for more efficient use of existing hardware. However, virtualization also poses security risks and challenges, including managing a more complex network, additional layers of technology, potential data leaks as multiple virtual machines share common communication lines, and the threat of
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The Web 2.0 Threat
Leading-edge collaborative tools and interactive sites pose monitoring burden As the Web 2.0 movement makes interactive applications and social networks such as Facebook ubiquitous on employees’ desktop computers, financial firms are facing the daunting task of monitoring these so-called greynets. Instant messaging security vendor FaceTime Communications estimates that there are more than 600 greynets worldwide,
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Back-End Authentication Moves to Forefront
User authentication has been getting a lot of attention lately, what with lingering threats of identity theft, a U.S. regulatory initiative to have banks and other depository institutions raise their level of customer validation technology, and the Securities and Exchange Commission looking closely at how the brokerage industry is handling the issue. The technological solutions
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India Tightens Security
Article originally published in Insurance Networking News. Late spring 2005, the world learned that a crime ring that included call center employees of an Indian outsourcing company stole more than $300,000 from Citibank customers by tricking callers into giving up their PIN numbers. The news sent shockwaves through the industry, as India was the premier
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Biometrics Comes To the Heartland
A couple years ago, good security meant a good firewall at the periphery of a bank’s network. Today, given the range of internal and external threats at financial institutions, that’s no longer enough. Instead of installing security appliances at key locations, banks like Fayetteville, AR-based ANB Financial are turning entire networks into security systems. Founded
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Network Security: An Arkansas Bank Protects Communications Inside-out
A couple of years ago, good security meant a good firewall at the periphery of your network. Today, given the wide range of threats that are coming at financial institutions, both internal and external, that is no longer enough. Instead of installing security appliances at key locations, forward-looking banks are turning their entire networks into
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Visa issues 10 ‘commandments’ for online merchants
In an attempt to reduce online credit-card fraud, Visa U.S.A. in San Francisco announced 10 “commandments” for online merchants to guard its cardholders’ information. And, next week, Visa will follow up by releasing the details of a broad online security program.
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Fake bank Web sites trick consumers into giving up personal data
A hacker doesn’t have to break into a bank’s computer to steal account numbers and access codes. It may be enough to set up a “spoof” Web site that closely mimics a real bank’s, according to a warning issued last week by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Some customers have provided
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