Page 1 of 1 Online accounts safe despite records loss, UK banks say

Though a government agency lost 25 million child benefit records , many with banking details, banks in the UK are insisting online accounts are secure. All the banks contacted by Computerworld UK said that their current security arrangements were adequate. Some rely solely on password protection for online banking access, while others have introduced two-factor authentication to secure customers when accessing their accounts online or performing certain transactions.

Last week’s breach was particularly significant because bank account data is highly prized by criminals, according to Gartner analyst Avivah Litan. Litan said that on the black market bank account data sells for the highest price — between ВЈ15 (US$32) and ВЈ200 — whereas credit card data is typically only worth between 25 pence and ВЈ2.50.

This is because the likely gains from getting into an account are that much higher, and the likelihood of the account having been disabled that much lower. UK banks are, however, publicly sanguine about the risk posed by the Her Majesty’s Revenue Customs breach. Alliance Leicester, which introduced Passmark two-factor authentication in March last year, said its security systems were “well-established and effective” and applied to all of its internet bank accounts.

It said that, like all banks, it was watching affected accounts more closely but had so far seen nothing untoward. Andrew McDougall at Barclays said that the bank was pressing ahead with its plan to roll out 500,00 Pinsentry chip-and-PIN card readers to those among its two million banking customers who have used their accounts to set up payments to third parties.