Resources for Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC)

Phishing is a Real Threat to the Financial Services Industry

IBM

The Internet has changed many paradigms, from the way people communicate, obtain, distribute, and share information to the means they use to buy and sell goods and services. For the financial industry, the Internet has also had a profound and everlasting impact. It provides the most efficient, low-cost channel for soliciting new customers, servicing existing customers, and providing a wide range of financial services. Today, over 30% of all securities are traded online; more than 33 million households use online banking, and e-commerce accounts for almost 10% of all credit card purchases. Westpac, a bank with the largest branch network in Australia, boasts that its clients perform more financial transactions with the click of a mouse than are performed in its entire branch network. The future of financial services has arrived, and it is the Internet.

But a cloud hovers over this party. Since the halcyon days of its birth, security concerns have plagued the Internet channel, and now these threats are escalating. An entire new taxonomy has been created to describe the threats and risks: virus, Trojan horse, worm, hacking, and spyware to name just a few. In 2003, a new word was added to the lexicon of Internet security threats: phishing. Virtually unknown a little more than a year ago, the phishing phenomenon has exploded into the consciousness of financial services providers accompanied by alarmist media coverage.

View the Resource

Share or bookmarklet this web page at: