SECURITY Bank Corp. has reinforced its protective measures to combat rising incidents of illegal online banking transactions.
“We have invested in good analytics that will analyze the behavior of transactions. This way we will be able to determine right away if there are suspicious transactions,” said Belen Lim, Security Bank senior vice president for corporate services.
She said Security Bank has spent funds to protect their clients and that they have established a daily 24-hour team to monitor all of the banks online transactions.
Cyber robbers, according to Lim, operate in a systematic way using the latest technology and sophisticated tools--the reason banks should also level-up and be systematic in their protection measures.
“Our software protection should be working robustly,” she said.
Security solutions firm Kaspersky Lab noted that “cybercriminals around the world are trying harder than ever to acquire confidential user data and steal money from bank accounts by creating fake sites and web pages imitating financial organizations or internet resources.”
It said that phishing attacks have become so popular because they are simple to deploy and extremely effective.
Based on the 2013 Kaspersky study, the number of phishing attacks targeting banks almost doubled from 11.92 percent in 2012 to 22.2 percent in 2013. On the other hand, the number of attacks on online stores increased insignificantly by 8.5 percentage points while those targeting payment systems dropped by 2.63 percentage points.
“The conclusion here is obvious: the attackers are increasingly focusing on bank web services and this is one of the strongest trends in the area of phishing threats,” the study said.
Information security consultant Dexter Laggui warned consumers to be extra cautious when sharing information online, saying cyber criminals make use of information found on the web when looking for possible victims.
He said cyber threats nowadays are becoming one of the most desired avenues for criminals, especially for robbery, as there are fewer risks and can be done smoothly.
Adopting high-end measures in ensuring protection in online banking is crucial for the country especially that all local banks are now capitalizing on e-banking services for efficient operation and customer convenience.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said banks have responded well to market innovations with the growth in e-banking platforms.
In the recent years, these platforms have widely evolved, from automated teller machine (ATM) networks, Internet banking and mobile phone banking, to the more sophisticated use of e-money instruments such as cash/remittance cards and electronic wallet, which are accessible via mobile phones or tablets.