In its bid to make internet banking into an almost foolproof exercise, leading internet banker, Lloyds TSB has come up with a trial of its security system wherein users will operate tiny little gadgets that will generate one-time passwords for account verification.
Initially, Lloyds will be issuing about 30,000 such dongles to customers in a period of six months as a trial of its security system. Users participating in Lloyds’ internet banking will log in to their accounts as usual through their user ID and password, and enter the one-time code that their keyring type dongle or the Access code device generates.
Lloyds TSB’s internet banking director, Matthew Timms notified, “The trial of is one of a number of security initiatives we are introducing to address the concerns of customers and stay ahead in the battle against online fraudsters. The Access Code Device will generate a new code every time it’s used, preventing customers from disclosing all their log on details.”
Furthermore, the bank plans to have additional security at the customers’ end, by having a PC scan that will hunt down spyware. A 20% discount will also be offered on the ZoneAlarm Security Suite, and people who undertake an online guarantee to protect themselves, will have the bank repaying the money in case an “unlikely event of fraud” occurs.
Appreciating the bank’s move, a security consultant from Morse, Donal Casey, said, “Access code devices have been used in the corporate world for some time and have proved to be very successful. Therefore it’s not surprising to see banks looking at using this technology.”
However, quite a few questions arise on the viability of this internet banking security method as customers could find carrying this gadget only an extra burden to their existing set of ‘high-tech gizmo’ keys of various other institutions. Also, when remembering personal identification numbers is a problem, one could easily forget carrying this thumb-sized gadget in the first place.
What’s more, lately an identity fraud concerning a woman occurred at Lloyds itself, giving a big blow to its security system. Swindlers emptied the woman’s account of a whopping £250,000 ($450,000) by forwarding absolutely fake documents to the bank staff. Lloyds admitted to the rising number of fraud cases at the bank in recent months.
Posted
on : Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:35 GMT | Banking News
By : Paula Jenkins
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