Garland Group Blog

Archive for November, 2005

Cyber crooks break into online accounts with ease

The Community November 21st, 2005 1 Comment

From USA Today…

GASTONIA, N.C. — When he logged on to his Ameritrade account earlier this year, George Rodriguez caught a cybercrook in the act of cleaning out his retirement nest egg.

He watched, horrified, as the intruder in quick succession dumped $60,000 worth of shares in Disney, American Express, Starbucks and 11 other blue-chip stocks, then directed a deposit into the online account of a stranger in Austin.

"My entire portfolio was being sold out right before my eyes," recalls Rodriguez, 41, a commercial real estate broker who alerted Ameritrade in time to stop the trades.

Rodriguez had just experienced a tech-savvy consumer’s worst nightmare. But it’s the reality of the digital world we live in: Everyone is now at risk of becoming the victim of an Internet-based crime — even folks who stay offline. And, once victimized, you can face more trouble than you might imagine.

Many consumers and small-business owners naively believe online transactions are safe if they use a firewall, keep anti-virus software updated and follow security tips posted on banking websites.

Click Here to read complete article…

Risky Employee E-mail Habits Threaten Business

The Community November 17th, 2005 0 Comments

From the Security Pipeline…

Before you hit send, you may want to think twice about the content of your e-mail.

A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Fortiva, shows a substantial discrepancy between employees’ perceived and actual risks. Results of the survey show that 68 percent of U.S. employees who use e-mail at work have sent or received e-mail via their work e-mail account that could place their company at risk. Despite this, 92 percent of these employees do not believe they have ever sent a risky e-mail.

The Harris survey, which examined the e-mail habits of more than 1,000 individuals who use e-mail at work, uncovered a number of issues that should raise concerns for businesses.

A majority of employees who use e-mail at work (61 percent) admit….

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Security solutions for e-banking and e-commerce with credit/debit cards,- Part 1: Analyzing the Security Issues

The Community November 10th, 2005 0 Comments

From BankInfo Security…

Introduction
With all sort of attacks against e-banking and e-commerce systems targeting primarily customers, securing transactions has become increasingly difficult for banks and online stores. There is a widespread use of credit and debit cards for shopping online. However, there use for e-banking (e.g. payments, money transfers, etcetera) is very limited. This is probably because we still tend to view them only as payment tools.

Concern about stolen and misused credit card information is rising. Also, banks and companies have been severely affected by fraud involving credit and debit cards. A good example of this is the security breach at Cardsystems Solutions Inc. earlier this year.  Adequately protecting credit card information is not only essential to guarantee secure e-commerce, but it also offers the possibility of extending the uses and services of cards, especially for e-banking purposes.

Root of the problem
Before we start reviewing some of the current solutions, it is worth checking what the root of the security problem with credit/debit cards is, and what mistakes have we made in the …..

To read the complete article, click here.

FinCEN’s 314(a) Fact Sheet

The Community November 10th, 2005 0 Comments

From BankInfo Security.com…

Section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-56)1 , required the Secretary of the Treasury to adopt regulations to encourage regulatory authorities and law enforcement authorities to share with financial institutions information regarding individuals, entities, and organizations engaged in or reasonably suspected, based on credible evidence, of engaging in terrorist acts or money laundering activities. FinCEN issued a proposed rule on March 5, 2002, and the final rule on September 26, 2002(67 Fed. Reg. 60,579). Section 314(a) requirements are now published in 31 CFR Part 103.100.

To read the Overview, click here…

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