Phishing, the art of
deception is about to become a bit less successful according to some of the
world’s largest banking institutions.
One morning before leaving for work you quickly scan your email and spot
a quick note from your trusted bank that you have been with for years. The typical scam pitch might go like “it’s
that time of year again, dear member, to update and verify some information on
your account…” You are directed to your
bank’s website, provide the vitals, and you are happily on your way to the
office. Later in the day, with a shopping cart full of groceries you are
horrified that your account cannot cover the charges. The reality is that you are broke. And, that website was NOT your trusted bank’s
site at all.
“This cybercrime,
known as Phishing, has cost industry an estimated $2.5 billion last year
alone,” states Tero Pollanen, a well known fraud prevention specialist, “it is
time to rethink security strategy.” The
latest school of thought is in the utilization of new exclusive internet
addresses with unique domain endings such as dot-citi, dot-barclays or
dot-bofa. The banking institutions are hoping that this will increase customer
awareness that they actually are dealing with their bank rather than a scam
website attempting to steal personal information.
According to Icann,
the organization that more or less governs the internet, these new extensions
could begin to appear in 2013. In addition to security concerns they would also
aid in brand promotion. But by far the
greatest need for this change would be the possible security benefits over what
they cannot obtain with a dot-com presence.
Fraud will still
exist with careless customers and it is the weakest link in the chain of
security. But at least the institution
can create a domain that ends in their bank name which will help to generate
more trust in the institution.
The key here of
course is communication between the institution and its customers that when a
web address ends in a particular dot-brand, it can be trusted.
Ref.: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444508504577593243972975650.html
