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Online bank security worsens
More security bugs crop up as banks rush online.
By Matthew Broersma | Techworld
Published: 16:00 GMT, 14 June 07
Banks' online security is getting worse as they rush to offer services online, according to new research.
This year's Annual Security Report from NTA Monitor, a security testing firm, found that 20 percent more security vulnerabilities turned up in the infrastructures of banks, building societies and other financial institutions compared with last year's report. The survey covers networks, applications and systems.
By comparison, a month ago NTA reported that the security of UK organisations in general improved year-on-year. Thirty-two percent of UK organisations tested had critical vulnerabilities that are widely known and exploited, compared to 61 percent in 2006.
Meanwhile, financial organisations tested positive for an average of three more vulnerabilities in the 2007 survey, NTA said.
A common category was buffer overflows in Bind running on DNS servers, which could allow an attacker access to the server.
Another common problem was expired SSL certificates, which force users to acknowledge that they know the certificate is invalid before they can access the site.
NTA technical director Roy Hills said the increase in security problems is due to growing pressure on financial organisations to go online. "Whilst this extra accessibility is of benefit to many customers, at the same time it can increase the exposure to external attacks," he said in a statement.
Among NTA's recommendations are to ensure SSL certificates are always renewed on time, to change default settings on Apache, in order to avoid denial of service attacks, and to keep up to date with patches.
Add your commentComments
Brian Kinch, Fraud Expert, Fair Isaac | Published: 13:20 GMT, 26 June 2007
Customers need to be able to trust in the integrity of online banking and have a right to know that banks are taking all reasonable steps to protect them from fraud and ID theft. We need to look at putting in place a UK wide network which is available for victims to help them fully repair their personal and financial profiles to lessen the effect of this crime. Moreover, if the Home Office follows through with its advice to victims of card fraud (to not bother reporting the crime to the police), this will put a greater pressure on banks as customers will need more reassurance and to feel confident that their bank has the necessary protection in place and is properly equipped to offer additional support if required. Banks need to adopt advanced fraud detection systems and apply a rigour with online banking transactions similar to that which they apply to physical card transactions.
Dave | Published: 18:45 GMT, 14 June 2007
In a world where the service sector has lost its focus on perfection (costs money), and downgraded itself to a service level approaching mediocracy, I no longer feel comfortable using on-line banking from my PC. I have no choice but to accept financial institutions using the internet to conduct business. I have experienced first hand, this deterioration in the Insurance sector, and the Medical sector. When a problem is found, it should be the task of responsible institutions to make immediate corrections. Software and hardware vulnerabilities in this case, should be looked after quickly, not when it fits someone's schedule or budget. Those at risk are we, the public, the consumers, those who must put their trust in professionalism and not be deceived. It is a sad situation, but the financial establishments' lapses in integrity are but a microcosm of our western society. Did Rome not but cumble from within? Does history repeat itself?