The Security Of Online Banking

In today’s modern society, to which a well-developed information technology has been applied, it is getting more and more inevitable to use it in our everyday life, since people can store and access to their private information in one place without difficulty. However, this is also the danger of it, as it has become much easier for a third-party to collect and steal information online. Consequently, many cautious company and institutions are aware and well prepared for the potential cyber data hack attacks. (Bennett, 1992)

In this paper, I will identify security threats that Bank of America faces today. In addition, I will describe the techniques and processes used to identify the vulnerabilities and threats, describe risks to the information and related vulnerabilities within Bank of America when utilizing components of the web. Discussions on BoA safeguard against legal issues will be addressed followed by the types of social data that potentially cause problems for this bank institute. In conclusion, I will explain the legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements Bank of America utilize for the protection of the organization.

Cyber-Security risk will only increase in importance and require ever greater resources. As a Financial institution we store an increasing amount of data about their customers, the exposure to cyber-attacks is likely to further grow so we have to make protection against cyber-attacks one of our top strategic priority (The future of Bank Risk Management, 2016).

Being touted as the 'new era of cyber crime', advanced phishing attacks recently were responsible for stealing as much as $1 billion from over 100 banks worldwide. [1] In an attack that took place in the shadows of the networks of their victims over more than 2 years, this display of how dangerous these phishing techniques are becomes very apparent. In previous years, it was always thought that the easiest way for a hacker to steal would be for them to go after the customers directly. However, as became apparent in this attack, hackers have become much more resourceful at how they get access to the banking information they desire.

Cyber criminals are illegally access into others account. They are illegally accessed more than half of the world’s largest banking website. Nearly one billion losses for every year for banking industry for this criminal attacks.

These hackers threaten our security and confidentiality every day by getting unauthorized access and stealing our most valuable or sensitive information. Privacy and security concerns are not unique to the bank industry; they are spread to personal information such as health or employment, and other e-commerce transactions. The protection of this information has to be ensured by the company or bank in order for customers to continue the relationship with such.

In February 2014, there was a multi-bank cyber heist which was discovered by Kaspersky Lab. According to the report, the hackers infiltrated banks’ network system using tactics such as phishing to gain access to sensitive data which was used to siphon money from banks. It was reported that, the cybercriminal ring, known as Carbanak, siphoned more than $1 billion from banks around the world (Kuranda). According to other sources, the criminals were not arrested and there were reports of attempted attacked to other financial institution. So, the information technology security experts are on high alert to prevent future attacks. The discovery of the attack on Kaspersky lab, which was named “Duqu 2.0”, revealed a major threat to the information technology system (Kuranda). Kaspersky Lab is Moscow-based security vendor which provide data security system to many organization around the globe. So, such breach means a major threat to banks as well.

Furthermore, fraudsters use social engineering to deceive the bank customers and gain access to sensitive online credentials (Schneider, 2013, p. 480). Unfortunately, fraudsters use phishing to hold clients’ customer data through making phone calls or sending emails to determine information on the payment cards. Moreover, the information obtained through phishing enables the fraudsters to obtain access and make withdrawals, thus forging the customers’ identity. For example, backdoor programs, such as Cart32, steal customer data (Schneider, 2013, p.430). Therefore, phishing not only impacts negatively internet banking but also poses threats to the bank payment system.

By the mid 1990’s most of the major banks now offered online Bill Pay to all of its customers for a small monthly fee (6). By this time, online banking has begun to grow rapidly, along with the concerns for customer security. Like with many changing technologies, many customers of online banking become skeptical of how well the technology could protect them. With growing concerns from customers, banks began increasing their security with online accounts (7).

In today’s digital age, the Internet has become an integral part of life. From emailing and instant messaging to banking and submitting tax, nearly every aspect of our life revolves around the cyber world. While the Internet had provided us with great accessibility and convenience over the years, it also exposes us to cyberthreats. All sensitive information such as passwords and personal financial details sent using the internet are subjected to cyber threats to a certain extend []. When stolen, such information can be used against us, affect user’s life. Therefore it is crucial to understand how to protect information from exploitations.

Technology has been a milestone in the 21st century, new advancements are made as each year passes by. Technology is evolving and is of major significance in present times, whether in our daily lives or in workplace environments. In this regard, the majority of individuals in the 21st century rely on technology and the Internet on a daily basis. For instance, the majority of us utilize technology such as our smartphones and computers to retrieve personal information of ours from the Internet, such as our bank accounts. Whereas others, such as businesses, have customer data, employee and employer’s personal information, etc. Therefore, we must be precautious as to how we handle and guard our personal information over the Internet from being hacked or utilized as the ends to a means by terrorists, hackers, etc. In this regard, oneself must be enlightened about what exactly cybersecurity is, and what are the potential threats and risks associated to cybersecurity.

Online banking has become popular in this 21st century that online banking safety tips should be considered as a very important aspect of online banking if you don't want to fall victim of online fraudsters who are looking for whom to defraud.

Although, electronic banking provides many opportunities for the banks, it is also the case that the current banking services provided through internet are limited due to security concerns, complexity and technological problems (Sathye, 1999 & Mols, 1999). According to Financial Services Authority (FSA) 2010, banks face several risks but notably are; Safety situations around ATMs, abuse of bank cards by fraudsters at ATMs and the danger of giving your card number when buying on line. Security risk is a major source of concern for both customer and the bank. Since E- banking services are offered using network, it is exposed to risk environments hence leading to security breaches. The consequences of security threats are potential financial, legal and reputational implications.

Current technology is evolving fast, which brings new dimensions to people’s daily life. Moreover, network technological innovation not only brings huge economic benefits to the bank, but also has brought new needs for the requirements of online banking. The interaction between user and bank has been substantially enhanced by deploying computer operations, which not only reduce the cost of bank service, improving the efficiency of service, but also achieve a new kind of operation without using paper .However, Online banking transactions can be a double-edged sword. These conveniences give also rise to a series of safety problems such as phishing sites and cyber crime. Thus customer’s behavior has been limited on account of the unsafe e-commerce environments. This essay will argue that there exist risks in online banking which can lead to criminal behavior, and a number of reasonable solutions have been developed to reduce the risk for customers such as improving online banking system, raise citizens’ internet knowledge and workers’ professionalism to a new and higher level.

A secure and safe online electronic banking transaction should be maintained to have an approach to security that is extensive. Most banking organizations don 't have such practices and strategies set up. This expense can be measured in dollars as well as in many-sided quality, effectiveness and time. To make things secure and prevent fraudulent transactions, money plays a key factor. It is necessary to spend money and perform more procedures to complete.