Online Banking Security | The Central Texas IT Guy

13 December, 2016

Online banking and payment frauds are increasing at an alarming rate. Moreover, with the continuous emergence of ecommerce websites, more and more people are becoming victims of these fraudulent activities. Though online banking offers a lot of convenience, the security risks that come along with it necessitate the users to be extremely cautious while accessing their financial accounts.

Given below are a few tips that can help to avoid banking and payment fraud:

Enable Two Factor Authentication: The best approach is to use two factor authentication for all your online financial accounts. With this, you will have to enter your login credentials, along with the unique one time password (OTP) sent to your mobile number, to confirm any transaction. Thus, even if someone has your username and password, he would not be able to use them unless he gets the OTP.
Choose Strong Passwords: Create a strong and hard-to-crack password for your internet banking account. The password should ideally be 6 to 10 characters long and consist of uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers as well as symbols. Also, you should not store your password in your computer system, unless it is properly encrypted.
Avoid Clicking Through Emails: Be wary of phishing emails that require you to update your account information online. Also, do not click on any links embedded in such emails. They may contain a malicious code that redirects you to a fake website to record your banking credentials. It is safer to directly type in your bank website’s URL in the browser.
Access Your Accounts Securely: Do not access your financial accounts from open Wi-Fi hotspots. These networks do not use encryption and all the information you share can be easily viewed, accessed or modified by the hackers. Also, the website’s URL should begin with ‘HTTPS’ instead of ‘HTTP’ along with a small padlock icon in the address bar.
Log Out After Each Session: No matter you are using a personal/public computer system or a smartphone, it a good practice to log out after every online banking session. This will minimize the chances of becoming a victim of session hijacking and cross site scripting attacks. You should also clear the browser cache and history at the end of each session.

We, at Centex Technologies, offer comprehensive internet security solutions across Central Texas. For more tips on preventing online banking and payment fraud, you can call us at (855) 375 – 9654.

24 September, 2016

Due to the advancement in technology, financial institutions are rapidly shifting their mode of transactions to the internet. Though online banking offers much more convenience and saves you the hassles of visiting the bank, the indiscernible risks associated with it cannot be overlooked. Before accessing your account online or transferring funds over the internet, it is essential that you understand the risks involved to keep yourself protected.

Discussed below are some of the potential security risks of online banking:

Identity Theft

Most banks implement strong security measures to prevent hacking attacks, but your personal computer may not be fully protected. Once you access your account, all your personal information, including account number, social security number, PIN etc., is at risk. The hackers may infect your computer with a malware or use social engineering techniques to acquire your banking details and conduct fraudulent transactions.

Phishing

Phishing is another common attack in which the hacker sends fake emails to compel the users to give out their personal information. These emails often create a sense of urgency and require the user to click on a specific link. When the user clicks on the link, he is redirected to a fake website that looks similar to the bank’s login page. As soon as the user enters his online banking credentials, the information is transmitted to the hacker to be used for malicious purposes.

Keystroke Logging

Your computer system may have a malicious script installed that stealthily records and stores all the keystrokes of the user. This information is then sent to the hacker to get unauthorized access to your online banking account or other websites that require login credentials.

Man-In-The-Browser (MITB) Attack

This type of attack is similar to the man-in-the-middle attack. However, an MITB attack involves the use of Trojan horses to infect the user’s internet browser. The Trojan may be installed by tricking the user to download a software claiming to be a legitimate update. When the user initiates a financial transaction, the Trojan alters the form fields and information submitted to the bank’s website. This change is not visible to user and takes place before SSL encoding. As a result, the hacker gets control of the user’s banking interface, while bypassing all the stringent authentication mechanisms.

Centex Technologies is a leading IT security company in Central Texas. For more information on online banking threats and security measures, feel free to call us at (855) 375 – 9654.

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Tag: Online Banking Security

Ways To Avoid Banking And Payment Fraud

Security Risks Of Online Banking