Hacking fears bog down online banking growth

The number of people who turn to the Internet for personal banking isn't growing--but those who are already hooked on such services are using them more often, a new survey has shown.

The percentage of Americans who conduct personal banking activities online has stagnated at 39 percent in the 12-month period ending August 2005, Ipsos Insight said in a study released Tuesday.

The research firm, which interviewed 1,000 American adults for the study, found that many consumers were worried that their personal information could either be stolen by hackers and phishers or sold to third parties by banks. Nearly 83 percent of those who conduct banking online reported such concerns, while 73 percent of respondents said personal information theft is a deterrent for them.

"The industry needs to convey that they are, in fact, addressing the fundamental issues of personal information protection and theft associated with online banking, because the public's misperception is what's deterring growth," Doug Cottings, senior vice president at Ipsos Insight, said in a statement.

But those hooked on net banking are carrying out more transactions such as paying bills or managing mutual funds and retirement funds, the study found. Also, more people are signing up for new financial and banking services online. Half of all new credit card applications were made online, and about 50 percent of mortgages, home equity loans and car loans were signed up for online, the study said.

"There are specific ways companies can make online banking a better experience, beginning with assuring customers that their information won't be sold to third parties," Cottings said.

[padrino121]

Insecurity on the part of financial instutions

I wrote a short article a couple of months ago after noticing a change Wachovia made to their home page, I could now login to online banking directly from it however the form was delivered to me over an insecure pipe. This lowers the security posture of the system and opens up some potential holes for exploitation and information disclosure. I didn't get anywhere with Wachovia because their Information Assurance folks apparently think their approach is sound.

Here is the article at my site.

http://www.attemptatsanity.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Wachovia

[padrino121]

Insecurity on the part of financial instutions

I wrote a short article a couple of months ago after noticing a change Wachovia made to their home page, I could now login to online banking directly from it however the form was delivered to me over an insecure pipe. This lowers the security posture of the system and opens up some potential holes for exploitation and information disclosure. I didn't get anywhere with Wachovia because their Information Assurance folks apparently think their approach is sound.

Here is the article at my site.

http://www.attemptatsanity.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Wachovia

[padrino121]

Insecurity on the part of financial instutions

I wrote a short article a couple of months ago after noticing a change Wachovia made to their home page, I could now login to online banking directly from it however the form was delivered to me over an insecure pipe. This lowers the security posture of the system and opens up some potential holes for exploitation and information disclosure. I didn't get anywhere with Wachovia because their Information Assurance folks apparently think their approach is sound.

Here is the article at my site.

http://www.attemptatsanity.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Wachovia

[padrino121]

Insecurity on the part of financial instutions

I wrote a short article a couple of months ago after noticing a change Wachovia made to their home page, I could now login to online banking directly from it however the form was delivered to me over an insecure pipe. This lowers the security posture of the system and opens up some potential holes for exploitation and information disclosure. I didn't get anywhere with Wachovia because their Information Assurance folks apparently think their approach is sound.

Here is the article at my site.

http://www.attemptatsanity.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Wachovia

[wtortorici]

Lost payment...

took a month to resolve the issue, plus being charge a late payment fee of $40.00 and interest $8.00 is a very expensive lesson.
Online banking debits your account before they actually pay the payee so they have 3 or 4 days of float. Multiply that by thousands of transactions and we are talking about millions of dollars they get interest free. Sorry NO MORE FOR ME!!!

[wtortorici]

Lost payment...

took a month to resolve the issue, plus being charge a late payment fee of $40.00 and interest $8.00 is a very expensive lesson.
Online banking debits your account before they actually pay the payee so they have 3 or 4 days of float. Multiply that by thousands of transactions and we are talking about millions of dollars they get interest free. Sorry NO MORE FOR ME!!!

[wtortorici]

Lost payment...

took a month to resolve the issue, plus being charge a late payment fee of $40.00 and interest $8.00 is a very expensive lesson.
Online banking debits your account before they actually pay the payee so they have 3 or 4 days of float. Multiply that by thousands of transactions and we are talking about millions of dollars they get interest free. Sorry NO MORE FOR ME!!!

[wtortorici]

Lost payment...

took a month to resolve the issue, plus being charge a late payment fee of $40.00 and interest $8.00 is a very expensive lesson.
Online banking debits your account before they actually pay the payee so they have 3 or 4 days of float. Multiply that by thousands of transactions and we are talking about millions of dollars they get interest free. Sorry NO MORE FOR ME!!!

Security comes at a cost

One of the major reasons I do not do more e-banking transactions is that my bank wants me to pay for it. I understand creating a secure and user-friendly experience that is reliable costs money, but it costs even more money when I make them go through the "old process" of writing and sending checks (which is a free service from them). I feel I can speak with some authority having family in the banking industry and myself working in the IT security industry. Banks need to start looking at the long term and realize it is well worth the investment (e.g. reduced personnel costs, overhead, etc.) to do more online and make it totally free for their customers.

Security comes at a cost

One of the major reasons I do not do more e-banking transactions is that my bank wants me to pay for it. I understand creating a secure and user-friendly experience that is reliable costs money, but it costs even more money when I make them go through the "old process" of writing and sending checks (which is a free service from them). I feel I can speak with some authority having family in the banking industry and myself working in the IT security industry. Banks need to start looking at the long term and realize it is well worth the investment (e.g. reduced personnel costs, overhead, etc.) to do more online and make it totally free for their customers.

Security comes at a cost

One of the major reasons I do not do more e-banking transactions is that my bank wants me to pay for it. I understand creating a secure and user-friendly experience that is reliable costs money, but it costs even more money when I make them go through the "old process" of writing and sending checks (which is a free service from them). I feel I can speak with some authority having family in the banking industry and myself working in the IT security industry. Banks need to start looking at the long term and realize it is well worth the investment (e.g. reduced personnel costs, overhead, etc.) to do more online and make it totally free for their customers.

Security comes at a cost

One of the major reasons I do not do more e-banking transactions is that my bank wants me to pay for it. I understand creating a secure and user-friendly experience that is reliable costs money, but it costs even more money when I make them go through the "old process" of writing and sending checks (which is a free service from them). I feel I can speak with some authority having family in the banking industry and myself working in the IT security industry. Banks need to start looking at the long term and realize it is well worth the investment (e.g. reduced personnel costs, overhead, etc.) to do more online and make it totally free for their customers.