E-banking: VKB-Bank Opts for Gemalto

• The Austrian financial institution VKB-Bank has opted for Gemalto to enhance its online banking services based on the Ezio Edge Optic smart card reader proposed by the group. This authentication tool will from now on be preferred in e-banking contexts.

• The reader does not require any prior software installation; the user places it near by his screen (PC or mobile) for direct reading of the encrypted data and transaction signature. Once identified, he can carry on with various operations (including payments and funds transfers).

• The readers will be made available to all VKB customers in branches.

Source: Gemalto press release

• In Austria, online banking standards are under way, but online transactions security efforts are also in process. Today, they ideally rely on mutual authentication and transaction signature. Simplicity of use also remains a major concern, key to users’ adoption of these solutions. Gemalto’s Ezio Edge Optic interestingly can be adapted to both mobile and PC-based transactions.

• VKB-Bank intends to rollout online documents signature services too, as well as other means to secure international payments, later on.

• According to Microsoft’s figures, taken up by ThreatMetrics mid-July, the EU countries most affected by malware include Austria, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. This same report notes that 78% of the Austrian households have a computer at home and 75% have Internet access; more than 58% of the users make online purchases and nearly 54% use e-banking services. The increasing number of phishing attempts targeting banks has pressured them into implementing countermeasures.

• This launch also complies with the users’ expectations as they keep worrying about the security of their data. A recent European survey by Eurobarometer shows that 89% of those interrogated try to avoid providing their personal pieces of information online and 74% say they noted an increase in the risk of fraud since 2010. The same report also indicates that 12% of surveyed users claim they have already fell prey to fraud attacks and 8% have already had their identity usurped. Paradoxically, despite these fears and threats, 53% say they buy goods online, 52% use social networks and 48% use online banking services.

• We shall also remind that last March the European Commission started developing the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) aiming at improving the protection of Internet users against online threats: as e banking is especially targeted, it is part of their priorities. This centre should be operational by January 2013.