Network Security News

Two-factor security can't keep all hackers at bay

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Advanced online security measures adopted by banks, including passwords that change every minute, are just one more hurdle for professional hackers to overcome, warn security experts.

One-time passwords and other cutting edge techniques can keep out low-level cyber criminals, but no system is safe from particularly clever or determined hackers. Sam Curry, vice president of security firm RSA told tech blog Zikkir that "Companies should be very leery of both prophecies of doom, like the death of a technology, [and] rosy visions of security. Everything is breakable."

All is not lost to the hackers, however. Experts like Curry suggest a number of additional steps that can be taken to throw additional roadblocks into the path of would-be cyber criminals. Bank transactions, for example, could be conducted only using a computer running Linux, or one that was specially secured against the interception of online communication.

Alternatively, financial firms can take the initiative back from hackers by returning to low-tech methods of doing business. One company that was the victim of a financial Trojan attack told Zikkir that they have "gone back to writing manual checks."