Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 02 October 2008 11:24
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
With all the financial turmoil and US banks melting down, Australia is
a very big target for the world’s online criminals, what with our
strong commodities-based economy and AA rated banks with billions in
profit each year. How can you outsmart the crims?
An
article at News.com.au a couple of days ago highlighted the nightmare that is online identity fraud and theft in Australia.
It turns out that over half a million Australians are likely already to be victims of ID theft, with this kind of online theft “the fastest growing crime” in Australia. These findings have come from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Pretty shocking stuff!
Australian authorities are holding a “
National ID Fraud Awareness” week from October 13-17, with the event hosted by Crime Stoppers, the Australian Taxation Office, Fellowes (a company that makes consumer and business “shredders”, among other things), and “credit check” company Veda Advantage.
The ABS study shows that 87% of Aussies are concerned about ID fraud, but that 75% threw out bank statements and other info making life very easy for ID crims who got their hands on the materials!
Unfortunately these stats are likely to be very applicable to global computer users, not just those in Australia.
Protecting yourself comes down to being very careful with your financial information, shredding paperwork you do not intend keeping, and ensuring you follow online safety practices carefully.
Installing or upgrading to the latest 2009 version of an Internet Security Suite is one way to keep viruses and Trojans off your computer, although it’s not a foolproof way. Ensuring that your Windows system is set to automatically update itself with the latest security patches is also absolutely vital.
But these aren’t the only security steps you can take, with today’s best online security practices being a series of protective solutions, as there is no single magic bullet. While some banks are now offering “two factor authentication” solutions and token, which do increase security and certainly have a place in the overall security solution, this only secures the log-in process, and not the ensuing transaction or the device.
So, is there transactional security software that works when you are actually connected to your bank or financial institution, to protect the transaction? And more importantly, even if your computer is infected by a virus, Trojan or rootkit, especially if that infection is new and completely unknown, and hasn’t been detected by your anti-virus?
Australian banking and transactional security company,
TrustDefender, says yes, its software does exactly that, and is now being rolled out by financial institutions to its customers.
What has it uncovered about banking Trojans and two-factor authentication?
Please read on to page 2.
