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Australia: Expert Warns Against Home Banking Risks From Phishing Attacks

ONLINE banking in Australia was fraught with danger and "manifestly not suitable" for Internet transactions via the home computer, says leading Internet security expert, Professor Bill Caelli, AO. Professor Caelli, who recently briefed US policy advisers on Internet security, yesterday warned people to stop using home computers for personal banking or "any other sort of secure transaction". "A home PC was never designed for home banking," said Professor Caelli, who heads QUT's School of Software Engineering and Data Communications. "Do not use it, it's no longer safe." . . .. ONLINE banking in Australia was fraught with danger and "manifestly not suitable" for Internet transactions via the home computer, says leading Internet security expert, Professor Bill Caelli, AO. Professor Caelli, who recently briefed US policy advisers on Internet security, yesterday warned people to stop using home computers for personal banking or "any other sort of secure transaction". "A home PC was never designed for home banking," said Professor Caelli, who heads QUT's School of Software Engineering and Data Communications. "Do not use it, it's no longer safe." The blunt warning followed the emergence of a spate of fraudulent e-mails which targeted bank customers in a bid to get them to reveal passwords or personal account details such as pin numbers. However, the Australian Bankers' Association yesterday blasted Professor Caelli's comments as "not appropriate" considering the level of online banking crime. "It is like telling people to stop driving their cars because the roads are not safe," said ABA chief executive David Bell. "All users of the Internet have a responsibility to protect themselves against Internet crime, in the same way that they buy cars with safety and security features to protect themselves against injury or financial loss." The Brisbane-based Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (ACERT), which handles national computer threats, said it had seen a steady rise in e-mail "phishing expeditions" byhackers (attempts to persuade consumers to click on fake web banking pages and thereby gain access to account information and passwords). "It is not a major problem but it is a major concern," said general manager Graham Ingram. "Credit card fraud is more significant in terms of losses compared with Internet banking fraud." The Australian High Tech Crime Centre in Sydney, which works alongside ACERT, said its online fraud investigations were targeting customers, not banks. It advised people not to go online with an Internet account without first installing anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall protection software. The link for this article located at TheAdvertiser.com is no longer available. . Dr. Jane Smith cautions individuals against conducting financial transactions on personal computers due to increased cyber fraud incidents in New Zealand.. Internet Banking, Home Computer Security, Cyber Crime, Phishing Risks. . LinuxSecurity.com Team

Mar 09, 2004 • LinuxSecurity.com Team Privacy