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05 Feb 2015MOBILE: Mobile Banking is on the Increase - But Smartphones Are Susceptible to Easy Hacking
Recent Gauteng Business News
Mobile banking is increasing rapidly. But, as it does, so, too, does the risk of fraud. Worryingly, smartphones - which are becoming more commonplace –are opening up entry points for hackers to commit fraud.
So said Tjaart van der Walt, MD of Pretoria-based GSM mobile technology company, TruTeq Wireless.
TruTeq Wireless recently partnered with Australia's leading bank – Westpac - to roll out a secure USSD based mobile banking platform in the Pacific region.
Van der Walt commented further: “In a twist of irony, smartphones make it easier for criminals. Some banks claim their mobi apps are secure, with high levels of encryption. This may be the case, but at some point the application needs to interact with the user. The simplest method to overcome all this security is by an application inserting itself between the banking application and the user interface. This man-in-the-middle attack is known as “skinning” - and no amount of security inside the application, and between the application and the bank, can prevent this.”
The average smartphone user’s phone will have a large number of “free” applications. Smartphone users should ask themselves how these “free” applications are paid for. Many send usage information -and even address book information- to advertisers; but some carry Trojan code (also called malware) used for more insidious purposes such as skinning or forwarding your one-time pins to the hackers.
Most attacks are aimed at Android users, but it has been proven over and over that iPhone users are not safe from hackers either.
It turns out that the old clapped-out dumbphone lying at the back of the kitchen drawer may be the safest way to receive a one-time pin.
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