Banks experience thousands of attacks a minute. Here’s how they stop them

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.Deep within the country’s banks sit rooms lined with flashing screens showing an avalanche of attacks coming in and layers upon layers of defence systems to fend them off.

Phishing, ransomware and malware are among the most common attacks, along with “denial of service” attacks where criminals bombard a website with traffic in an effort to bring the service down. By adding more hurdles for bad actors and therefore making attacks more expensive, banks hope cybercriminals will be directed away from them. To deflect attacks from the country more broadly, small-to-medium businesses with less resources must also be educated, Bucchianeri said.

Australians’ estimated scam losses hit $3.1 billion last year, sparking pressure from regulators, politicians and consumer groups for banks to improve their systems for fighting the crime wave. Banks have recently reported some progress, but they say the threat from scammers is constantly evolving. NAB investigations and fraud group executive Chris Sheehan said the bank was watching closely for emerging trends including investment scams, especially as people feel cost of living pressures. “We’re getting reports of term deposits promising lucrative returns,” he said.

Scammers use mules to move money around before sending it to their final destination, making it difficult for banks to recover lost money. “By the time that money ends up in the criminals’ hands, it’s probably bounced around 40 to 50 different accounts,” Broome said. “They’re creating layers and roadblocks for us to recover the money for customers.”One response from banks to the scam wave has been to insert “friction” into the payment process, by slowing down suspicious money transfers.

In August, the competition watchdog, acknowledging the need for a co-ordinated response, allowed the 20 members of the Australian Banking Association to collaborate on developing industry standards to combat scams. Johnson said it was “absolutely necessary” to have guardrails to slow down suspicious payments but that the bank tried not to impact genuine payments.

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Banks see thousands of attacks a minute. Here’s how they stop themCybercriminals are coaching victims, recruiting money mules and ramping up attacks. Banks are in the business of making this an expensive exercise.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »