Online flaw puts 3 million HSBC customers at risk

Online flaw puts 3 million HSBC customers at risk

	Published : Thu, 10 Aug 2006 10:20 By : Cedric Benson Print this Story

LONDON - Over three million British customers of HSBC bank are susceptible to fraud on the bank's online banking system according to researchers from Cardiff University. The researchers say that users of the online banking system were vulnerable to attacks from hackers for the past two years.

First published in the Guardian, the report says that hackers could make use of a software called as "keyloggers", which records all the keystrokes on the target computer. This can then be used to hack into the users' account and gain access to all the details required for the customer's bank account. The researchers conducted tests and were able to break into many accounts within nine attempts. The flaw is limited to HSBC as other commercial banks make use of a more secure system.

Professor Antonia Jones, the leader of the research team, said, "There are serious issues here. Banks are in the business of safeguarding your money, and if they tell you that it's safe then you assume that's the case. But as long as this flaw exists, customers are at risk. For banks or institutions that are making huge amounts out of their customers not to protect them is pretty scandalous".

When contacted, officials at the bank said that the flaw was not serious and it required a very sophisticated attack to break into its customers' accounts. It also said that the bank has reported less number of frauds compared to other banks. In a statement read out by the its spokesman, the bank said, "HSBC would be very interested to hear any expert commentary on the security of its personal internet banking service. However, in this instance the supposed flaw uncovered is not one we have seen criminals use. It is an extremely sophisticated attack that would require a particular and time-consuming focus on one individual victim.”

He added that the bank’s customers were safe. “We are always seeking to upgrade our online security and we will examine the issues raised here very closely.”