Online banking customers are worried about their financial security but banks are lagging behind, according to a global survey of 4,500 internet users.
- The survey found security concerned 86 per cent of online banking users, compared to just 68 per cent for users of government web sites and 64 per cent for online health care.
Four out of five wanted better protection than a simple password.
"They are not satisfied with simple password. Consumers really and need this security."
He continued that while some European banks were going down the line of two factor authentication UK and US banks were instead relying on risk-based authentication. These monitor user behavior and apply computer algorithms to usage patterns to try and determine if an account has been compromised. Such systems avoided the 'man in the middle' attacks which could defeat two factor authentication.
Nevertheless internet users are getting more savvy about the threats from phishing and malware. In a similar survey in 2007 63 per cent of respondents were aware of Trojans, but last year that rose to 81 per cent.
The study also looked at the security needs of social networking sites, and found that users were seriously worried about the levels of security there.
"People are asking for more security and have said they would use it," said Geftic.
"A lot of data on social networking sites is used to steal banking information. People have been trained not to answer an email from a bank now, but attacks are more likely to come from social networking."
