Latest opinions that Pat Carroll has shared on Finextra

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Pat Carroll

Founder/Executive Chairman

ValidSoft

Member since

17 Mar 2011

Location

London

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Pat's opinions

When security meets good customer service

The Federal Trade Commission in the US recently released their consumer complaints survey results and for the 12th year running, the number one consumer complaint was identity theft. Whilst this result is arguably predictable, given that it is after all, the 12th time identity fraud has topped the list, what is surprising is the fact that insti

22 March 2012 /security /retail Online Banking

SIM swaps - a growing problem with a SIMple solution

Suddenly there seems to be a lot more talk about SIM swaps. If you don’t know, this is when a fraudster, using social engineering techniques, dupes the victim’s mobile phone operator into porting the victim’s mobile number to a SIM in the possession of the fraudster and so starts receiving any incoming calls and text messages, including banking on...

20 March 2012 /security Online Banking

Fall in card fraud does not reflect reality

It was interesting to see the figures from Financial Fraud Action UK yesterday, which showed a reduction in card fraud. As is often the case, however, what appear to be encouraging statistics disguise a less reassuring reality. In recent months, we’ve seen banks begin to take a far more aggressive approach to transaction declines and, in the case o...

08 March 2012 /security Innovation in Financial Services

Time to pull the PIN!

It’s time to call time on the static PIN. We forget them too easily, they are too simple to guess, and – most importantly – they don’t really provide the security that both banks and customers need. First, on average people forget their PINs every three months (source: 2012, A birthday present every eleven wallets? The security of customer-chosen b...

02 March 2012 /security Innovation in Financial Services

Improving Google Wallet's security

Two security flaws in the Google Wallet have been revealed in the last few days, highlighting the vulnerability of this technology. First zvelo showed how your Google Wallet PIN could be hacked using a brute force attack, and a few days later The Smartphone Champ discovered a way to reset payment options so that anyone who finds an unlocked smart...

21 February 2012 /security /payments Innovation in Financial Services

Live at Finovate

Today's the day. Finovate Europe 2012 has arrived and I’ve just completed my demo. Today is proving to be a fantastic showcase for innovation happening throughout the financial services industry. And it's great to see so much variety and such an international flavour - only one session and already we've seen solutions relating to savings, cloud id...

07 February 2012 /security Innovation in Financial Services

Did Fraud get a mention in Davos?

Fraud is a problem. CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, noted a 9% increase in overall fraud from 2010 to 2011. Startlingly, there was an 18% rise in facility takeover fraud –when a criminal obtains your credit card details, bank details or mobile phone to use your money without permission. CIFAS cited tough economic times as the reason for...

31 January 2012 /security /payments Innovation in Financial Services

Say hello to voice biometrics

Advances in smartphone technology have already changed the way we live, allowing us to do so much more on our phones. However, mobile payments, mobile banking and the data stored on our phones present serious security risks. To tackle that security deficit, banks, businesses and governments need to rethink how they authenticate end users. A recen...

18 January 2012 /payments Innovation in Financial Services

Two-factor authentication isn't enough

A lot of people talk to me about two-factor authentication (2FA) as if it was a security panacea. But what about in the case of Man-in-the-Middle or Man-in-the-Browser attacks, or (as discussed in my last blog) when people choose weak passwords to control their access to potentially valuable information? As cyber attacks become more complex and i...

13 January 2012 /security Innovation in Financial Services

Forgotten password? You're not alone

Many of us will have come back from the extended holiday period ready to start the New Year with a bang, only to realise that we’ve forgotten our computer password and can’t do anything until the IT department resets it. It’s not just the fact that you’ve been out of the office for 10 days. By insisting on “strong” passwords, IT departments are in...

03 January 2012 /security Information Security

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