There has been a sharp increase in hacking and malware attacks on financial institutions in the first six months of 2016, particularly on institutions with revenues below $35 million, Beazley has said in a report. Beazley has published its Beazley Breach Insights report for July 2016 based on its response to customer data breaches, Beazley Breach Response (BBR) Services unit. The specialised BBR Services unit discovered a sharp increase in hacking and malware on financial ins

Fraud involving ATM skimming is on the rise, according to data from FICO Card Alert Service, which monitors transaction data for bank clients. FICO doesn't release specific numbers, but recently reported a nearly 550 percent increase nationwide in the number of ATMs compromised by criminals in 2015 compared with 2014. Skimming is by far the most common way fraudsters obtain card data, according to FICO. There are a wide variety of ATM skimming devices, but many involve a card

Hacking for ransom is on the rise. Typically, hackers gain access to your computer systems and either block access to your systems or threaten to release sensitive data unless a ransom is paid. In most cases, the hackers demand that their ransom is paid by bitcoin, a virtual currency. According to the Associated Press, last year’s 2,453 reports of ransomware hackings totaled a reported loss of $24.1 million, making up nearly one-third of the complaints over the past decade. T

Cybercriminals took an average $32,000 from small business accounts, according to a December survey of owners by the advocacy group National Small Business Association. And businesses don't have the same legal protection from bank account fraud consumers have. The Electronic Funds Transfer Act, passed in 1978, states that it's intended to protect individual consumers from bank account theft, but makes no mention of businesses. Whether a business is protected depends on the ag

Identity theft continues to be a concern this tax season with two tax preparation software companies reporting unusual activity involving their customers. Those companies, TaxSlayer and TaxAct, have not suspended filing and do not believe that there has been an official data breach. Tax preparation software TaxSlayer has reported that accounts belonging to some of its customers have been illegally accessed. The company released a press release stating: “As a result of ongoing

Hackers looking to sabotage the U.S. banking system could break into larger companies by targeting smaller institutions, warn officials at the Federal Reserve in Boston, who have launched a pilot program to help thwart cyberattacks. “We’re focused on the small and medium (banks) because they’re a great door into some of the larger organizations,” said Kenneth C. Montgomery, first vice president and chief operating officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, who joined fed

Mobile financial threats are now among the ranks of the top ten malicious programs that were created to steal money, according to new data from Kaspersky Lab. In its latest security bulletin about the trends in 2015, it dives into what it calls the “rapid spread of ransomware,” which Kaspersky Lab reported being found in 200 countries and territories alone in 2015. But that’s not to say traditional financial cybercrime has gone down. Kaspersky’s data shows that its lab soluti

A recent study commissioned by the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), reveals that US and UK bankers rank organized cyber attacks as the biggest threat to the safety of banks. The biggest banks fear cyber attacks more than regulation, faltering economic growth and other potential risks. The Banking Banana Skins survey of 627 bankers, observers and risk regulators showed that Cyber crime topped a list of 24 possible risks to ban

Broadband and information technology are powerful factors in small businesses reaching new markets and increasing productivity and efficiency. However, businesses need a cybersecurity strategy to protect their own business, their customers, and their data from growing cybersecurity threats. Here are ten key cybersecurity tips from the Federal Communications Commission for businesses to protect themselves: 1. Train employees in security principles Establish basic security prac

Businesses and organizations should expect cyber criminals to attack through wearable devices, employees’ home systems, cloud services and automobiles within the next year, according cyber experts at Intel’s McAfee Labs. By 2020, individuals could be receiving payment for sharing their personal data and hackers could be manipulating markets in their favor through financial intelligence gathering, the experts also predict. Intel Security has released its McAfee Labs Threat Pre