HomeATM Headline Newsletter though December 8th

Compiled by Mitch Cobrin, COO of HomeATM ePayment Solutions

For more extensive news and industry coverage please see our award winning blog or visit our corporate website.

US BANKS FAILING TO PROTECT ONLINE CUSTOMER INTERACTION - JAVELIN
Nearly half of large US banks are leaving themselves unprotected against hijacking of online customer interaction, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=20847

Retailers to receive $1 billion from Visa/MasterCard lawsuit this week
December 7, 2009 More than half a million retailers should begin receiving checks totaling over $1 billion this week as the result of a federal judge’s approval of an early payout of funds remaining from the 2003 settlement of a lawsuit brought by NRF and others against Visa and MasterCard’s debit card practices. The funds will give many retailers struggling to make a profit during the current recession a welcome influx of cash at a time when slow sales and the ongoing credit crunch have left some short of operating cash needed to fully stock shelves and staff stores during the important holiday season. The class-action lawsuit, brought by NRF and about 20 of the nation’s largest retailers in 1996, was settled in 2003 for $3.1 billion.

'Keystroke logging' targets credit card customers
CompareAndSave.comAdvanced computer hacking techniques used for credit card fraud have been exposed by a new report. Tech website Pocket-lint.co.uk said that sophisticated

OBOPAY AND FIRETHORN FACE CHOP AS CITI STREAMLINES MOBILE STRATEGY
Citi has ended its three year mobile money test with Obopay and appears set to dump its relationship with m-banking supplier Firethorn as part of a global enterprise-wide evaluation of its wireless strategy. more on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=20840

Pivotal Payments Selected
Pivotal,an ISO with over 280 employees, more than $7 billion in annual volume, and 600 agents, was selected as a finalist for Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies award; winners will be chosen March 9

Three years to catch up on payment security standards
The Sheet Speakers at last week's Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Compliance Conference in Sydney described the online payments market as “the wild west

VeriFone Debuts iPhone Secure Payments Solution
PAYware Mobile, a payment solution for the iPhone, provides small businesses with simple and secure card processing capabilities on the popular smartphone platform. Read more and let us know what YOU think!

Fed Reports 9.3% Decline in Revolving Consumer Credit in October
The Federal Reserve's G.19 Consumer Credit report issued this afternoon reports that consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in October. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 9.3 percent while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent.

Belgian Online Payments Business Clear2Pay Gets $75 Million VC Funding
paidContent.org Online payments business Clear2Pay has bagged a big €50 million ($75.4 million) round of funding led by New York-based PE outfit Aquiline Capital Partners

SEPA: What's Next in Payments for Europe?
How has the European payments industry weathered the financial crisis and the move towards a single European payment area? Paying with Plastic author David S. Evans, Vitor Bento (CEO, SIBS) and Oliver Bretz (partner, Clifford Chance) discuss the state of the payments industry in Europe. Watch the interview

BMO and MasterCard Beta BlackBerrys at the POS
A network of about 8,500 Canadian merchants that accept MasterCard's contactless payments will also accept contactless BlackBerry payments as Bank of Montreal, MasterCard and Research in Motion launch a new mobile pilot.

CEO of UATP talks about payment network for airlines
eTurboNews UATP is the low-cost payment network privately owned by the world's airlines. UATP is the preferred form of payment for corporate travel in large

PayPal Admits to Phishing It's Own Users
PC Magazine The response he got from PayPal stated (in part—see the ESET blog for the full response):Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. ...

Mobile banking can play vital role in financial inclusion: RBI Deputy Governor
Microfinance Focus We all agree that the benefits of M-Commerce should reach the common man at the remotest locations in the country, said Dr. kcchakrabarty, Deputy Governor,

Thiel facing big loss
New York Post Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder who struck gold when he invested $500000 in Facebook five years ago, is facing a second consecutive year of losses at his ...
Card Companies Asked About Aggressive Sales Tactics by Online Companies

Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, has sent letters to Visa, American Express, and MasterCard asking them what they know about the aggressive online sales tactics many online companies use to charge consumers’ credit cards for unwanted club memberships. An earlier Committee staff report found that "millions of online consumers have been enrolled in these membership clubs and their credit card or debit cards have been charged even though they never provided the companies with their sixteen digit credit card or debit card numbers." More info here.

How the Square mobile payment service will work
CNN International By Eliot Van Buskirk (Wired) -- Twitter creator Jack Dorsey's Square application, which is like a smartphone PayPal for credit cards, has attracted lots of

Startup lessons from Bill Me Later's success
Baltimore Sun... one of the four co-founders of Bill Me Later -- a Baltimore area online payments company that was snapped up by eBay/Paypal for $945 million last year.

MyWireless.org Consumer Advisory – Beware of Criminal “SMiShing” Attacks on Your Mobile Device

MyWireless.org Consumer Advisory – Beware of Criminal “SMiShing” Attacks on Your Mobile Device

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National consumer advocacy coalition MyWireless.org® warned wireless consumers across the country today about the latest scam for identity theft on wireless devices. By responding to a seemingly-legitimate text message, wireless consumers could place themselves at great risk of having their identity or personal information stolen by crafty cyber thieves.



The phenomenon is known as “SMiShing” (which is a combination of ‘Short Message Service’ text messaging and email ‘Phishing’). The simple bait-and-hook fraud works like this – crooks use auto-dialing or roll-texting computer programs to text you on your wireless device (the bait). You see what appears to be a harmless, but unsolicited and possibly urgent, new message, such as ‘Notice! Hurry, your credit card has been deactivated or suspended, go to this website to get help!’ You might be in a rush, or perhaps think the message is from a trusted source such as your bank, so you hit send to visit the website (the hook). Suddenly, you’ve unwittingly exposed yourself. Crooks can use the Internet connection to attach dangerous spyware, malware, viruses, or spam that give them control of your device and access to your personal data. Sometimes, the scam doesn’t involve a web link, but rather gives a phone number to call back, where the scam artists will “phish” for your personal information by posing as representatives of your bank or other trusted company.



Brian Johnston, MyWireless.org’s Director of Communications and Federal Advocacy said, “Scamsters have tricked consumers into giving up their entire personal information and financial histories online. Unfortunately, we’re now seeing these attacks moving to wireless. Unless you recognize the contact, always be skeptical about the texts you receive, and particularly those that request a reply. Should you ever receive an urgent text message asking you to ‘Verify’ or to ‘Activate’ anything, don’t take the bait. Immediately delete the text and contact your bank and your wireless provider.”



Wireless companies have detected a pattern of SMiShing texts in recent months, although some reports of the scam date back to 2006. Wireless companies invest substantial resources to develop and implement spam blocking technologies so that users can safely use their wireless devices with their personal and financial data protected. As more wireless subscribers use SMS text messaging, they are urged to use caution if a suspicious message of any type appears on their wireless device.



To learn more, or to report an incident if you suspect you have received a form of “SMiShing”:



Federal Communications Commission Consumer Facts – http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/canspam.html

Federal Trade Commission SPAM Rules and Acts – http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/spam/rules.htm

MyWireless.org® is a nonpartisan non-profit advocacy organization, made up of wireless consumers, businesses and community leaders from around the country, supporting reasonable pro-consumer wireless policies. To learn more, please visit www.mywireless.org.

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Dynamic Card Solutions Announces the Availability of EMV Smart Start™

Image via Wikipedia

Specifically Designed for Card Issuers Seeking an Easy and Cost-Effective Way to Issue EMV Card Products



ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dynamic Card Solutions (DCS), the leading provider of instant issuance and PIN selection solutions for banks, credit unions and retailers that issue magnetic stripe, EMV and contactless cards, today announced EMV Smart Start™, a bundled suite of software and services designed for card issuers who want to issue EMV credit and debit cards.



Building on the strength of the company’s flagship CardWizard® card issuing software, which is installed in over 500 hundred financial institutions worldwide, the company developed EMV Smart Start to help those financial institutions who are not currently offering EMV cards the ability to easily issue them instantly in branches or centrally in a back-office location.



In addition to delivering the CardWizard software and associated hardware, DCS will help educate and provide comprehensive consulting services. DCS’ EMV Smart Start eliminates dependence on a third-party service bureau so that issuers will be able to produce and deliver EMV card offerings quickly, conveniently and more cost effectively on their own.



“Many U.S.-based cardholders who travel internationally where EMV cards have become the payment standard are unable to complete transactions with their magnetic stripe cards,” said Ron Zanotti, senior vice president for DCS. “Our EMV Smart Start suite enables financial institutions to easily and cost-effectively issue EMV cards, adding significant value, security and convenience to this cardholder segment. Based on our experience in instant card issuance and EMV, DCS is uniquely positioned to help financial institutions issue EMV cards instantly with our EMV Smart Start solution.”



DCS’ card issuing technology supports the full array of card types from virtually all card manufacturers including native, GlobalPlatform and MULTOS. This gives the financial institution the ability to issue multiple card types, including traditional magnetic stripe cards, EMV, contact and contactless cards. Cards can then be used on both chip-and-pin and stripe-and-sign systems.



For more information about DCS, please visit www.instantissuance.com.



About Dynamic Card Solutions



Founded in 1996 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Dynamic Solutions International, Dynamic Card Solutions (DCS) is the leading provider of instant issuance and PIN selection solutions for banks, credit unions and retailers that issue EMV, contactless and magnetic stripe cards. With over 500 financial institution customers supporting thousands of active branches, DCS is the leading instant issuance provider for Visa® and MasterCard® debit cards worldwide. DCS is dedicated to meeting the needs and requirements of complex issuance environments, and has the experience to guide you through the procedures and processes required to implement a best-in-class instant issuance operation for contact and contactless EMV and magnetic stripe cards. For additional information, call +1 303.754.2000 or visit the Dynamic Card Solutions Web site at www.instantissuance.com.

Moneris Solutions to Process Payments for Chegg.com

One of North America’s Largest Payment Processors Teams with Leading On-line Textbook Rental Company

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moneris Solutions, one of North America’s largest payment processors, announced today that it has signed an agreement to process credit and debit card payments for Chegg.com, the nation’s leading online textbook rental company.



Under the terms of the agreement, Moneris will process all Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Card and debit card payments for textbook rentals made through Chegg.com, as well as payments made with Chegg.com’s own pre-paid Visa card.



Based in Santa Clara, CA, Chegg.com is an innovative, money-saving alternative to traditional college bookstores, allowing students to rent textbooks through the Chegg.com website rather than having to buy them. Since its inception in 2005, Chegg.com has rented over one million textbooks to students at over 6,400 campuses nationwide and saved students over $53,000,000.



“The idea of being able to rent college textbooks instead of buying them is extremely innovative and progressive,” said Greg Cohen, President, Moneris Solutions US. “It’s convenient and saves students considerable money. We’re extremely excited to be working with Chegg.com and look forward to supporting them as their business continues to grow.”



“We’re pleased to partner with Moneris because they offered everything we were looking for: speed, security, reliability, experience in the education industry and the ability to quickly integrate into the Chegg.com website,” said Aayush Phumbhra, Co-founder and Senior Vice President of Operations at Chegg.com. “We are confident that as we continue to grow, Moneris has the capability to support us and our payment processing needs.”



About Moneris Solutions



Moneris Solutions is one of North America's largest payment processors. A joint venture between Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal, which combined have assets in excess of $700 billion, Moneris Solutions provides payment processing products and services to more than 350,000 North American merchants and processes more than 2 billion payment transactions annually. For more information, visit www.monerisusa.com.

Cisco 2009 Annual Security Report Unveils New 'Cybercrime Showcase' Awards

Source: Press Release: Cisco: Social Media Newest Playground for Cybercriminals

December 08, 2009: 08:00 AM ET

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today issued its Annual Security Report for 2009, which highlights the impact of social media, particularly social networking, on network security and explores the critical role that people, not technology, play in creating opportunities for cybercriminals. The Annual Security Report also includes winners of the 2009 Cisco® Cybercrime Showcase and discusses trends in cloud computing, spam and overall global cybercrime activities that information technology professionals continue to face.



Social media experienced explosive growth in 2009. Facebook alone tripled its active user base to 350 million over the course of the year. Social media adoption is expected to continue growing into 2010, especially as more organizations realize the value of social networks as an absolute business requirement. Social networks have quickly become a playground for cybercriminals because members of these sites put an inordinate amount of trust in the other members of their communities and often fail to take precautions to prevent the spread of malware and computer viruses. The Annual Security Report also provides more information on the potentially devastating combination of minor vulnerabilities, poor user behavior, and outdated security software that can dramatically increase risks to network security.



Highlights of the Cisco 2009 Annual Security Report include:



The 2009 Cisco Cybercrime Showcase

The first-ever Cisco Cybercrime Showcase acknowledges security professionals holding the front lines in the fight against cybercrime, while certain attacks are noted for causing significant trouble for Internet users in 2009:

• Most Audacious Criminal Operation: Zeus. A Trojan that delivers malware by targeted phishing and drive-by downloads, Zeus goes beyond login names and passwords to steal numerous online banking credentials. Affordable toolkits are enabling cybercriminals to create variants of Zeus that are difficult to detect by antivirus programs. In 2009, the Zeus botnet infected almost 4 million computers worldwide.
  
  
  
  


• Cybercrime "Sign of Hope": The Conficker Working Group. This group, composed of members of the security community and industry, is credited with significantly muting the impact of the network worm Conficker, which was anticipated to wreak havoc starting on April 1, 2009.
  
  
  
  


• Most Notable Criminal Innovation: Koobface. This worm regenerated itself, first appearing on Facebook in 2008, then Twitter in 2009. Koobface lures users into clicking a link for a YouTube video that launches the worm. More than 3 million computers have been infected by variants of this malware.
  
  
  
  

Key Findings

• Spam: Social media may be where cybercriminals troll for new victims. However, spam is still a tried-and-true means for tricking people into downloading malware and persuading them to buy, for example, fake pharmaceuticals. The Annual Security Report estimates that in 2010, spam volume will likely rise 30 to 40 percent worldwide over 2009 levels. However, Cisco's own SensorBase data shows that while the U.S. and other economic leader countries (such as those within the European Union) begin to shut down spam zombies in their own countries, the rollout of broadband in developing economies (including India and Vietnam) have made them an increasing source of spam. In fact, the U.S. was toppled as the No. 1 spam sender. In 2009, that distinction went to Brazil.
  
  
  
  


• Cloud Computing: While 10 years ago it would have been unthinkable for businesses to keep sensitive data outside the corporate firewall, today, with the advent of cloud computing and hosted applications, doing so is increasingly common. Many users are so trusting of cloud computing that they do minimal due diligence on who's hosting their sensitive data, and how secure the data is. The Annual Security Report recommends that organizations looking to use externalized services ask providers to explain their data security measures thoroughly.
  
  
  
  


• Cisco Cybercrime Return on Investment (CROI) Matrix: This year's Annual Security Report marks the debut of the Cisco CROI Matrix, based on the Boston Consulting Group's well-known "Growth-Share Matrix." The CROI Matrix analyzes which types of cybercrime will be the "winners" and "losers" in 2010. Based on performance in 2009, the matrix predicts that massive banking Trojan Zeus and other lucrative and easy-to-deploy Web exploits will be more prevalent in 2010. Scareware, spyware, click fraud, advance-fee fraud and pharma spam will continue to be cash cows. The "wait-and-see" moneymakers include social networking exploits, like the Koobface worm, that are only now starting to make their mark.
  
  
  
  


• Cisco Global ARMS Race Index: In an effort to track the overall level of compromised resources worldwide, Cisco has developed a Global Adversary Resource Market Share (ARMS) Race Index. Over time, the index will give a better picture of the online criminal community's rate of success at compromising enterprise and individual activity. In 2009, the index rates the level of resources under adversarial control at 7.2, indicating that between 5 and 10 percent of personal computers are compromised.
  
  
  
  

Supporting Quotes:

• Patrick Peterson, Fellow, Cisco: "The blending of social media for business and pleasure increases the potential for network security troubles, and people, not technology, can often be the source. Without proper cognizance of security threats, our natural inclination to trust our 'friends' can result in exposing ourselves, home computers and corporate networks to malware. The value of social media is becoming acknowledged increasingly by businesses, but these same organizations need to provide the proper training and education to ensure that employees avoid compromising themselves and their businesses."

Video/Images:

• Cisco Fellow Patrick Peterson highlights findings from the 2009 Cisco Annual Security Report
  
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/v/u9XBft_nCJ4&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1

Supporting Resources:

• Cisco Security Intelligence Operations
  
  
  
  


• Visit the Cisco Security Blog -- http://blogs.cisco.com/security
  
  
  
  


• Follow Cisco Security on Twitter -- http://twitter.com/ciscosecurity
  
  
  
  

Technorati Tags: Cisco, annual security report, social media, social networks, awards, network security, IronPort, firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, spam, virus, malware, enterprise security.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

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