Online Banking Targeted by Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals were after the gold in 2007, with most Internet attacks targeting U.S. banks.

An IBM survey found that U.S. banks were the target in 95% of the top 'phishing' attacks.  A 'phishing' attack is when a user receives an official looking email from their bank with the goal of tricking bank customers into giving away their username name and password.  Since the majority of U.S. Banks only utilize 1-factor of security, phishing attacks can results in the victim losing access to their account and their funds depleted.

 
U.S. Banks have been slow to adopt 2-factor methods of security due to increased cost of such methods (such as RSA tokens) and lack of compliance among consumers. 

With increased phishing attacks expected in 2008, we expect to see U.S. Banks increase security beyond 1-factor methods and move towards 'out of band' methods that are more consumer friendly.