Infosec: Surfers wary of using credit cards online

Confidence plummets as attacks soar

Only 52 per cent of UK residents are confident that their credit card is secure when they shop online, and a third do not feel safe about web banking, new research has claimed.

Internet security firm F-Secure has reported a sharp rise in the number of banking Trojans, usually delivered by email, designed to steal banking log-in details including username and password.

These new attacks are similar to the more traditional phishing style bank emails, which provide a link to a site which very closely imitates their bank.

But rather than asking a customer to log in, the new technique requests the user to download and install a 'security certificate', which is actually a Trojan rootkit.

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Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at F-Secure, said at Infosec Europe 2008 that this increasingly complex attack represents the next generation of online banking fraud.

Fraudsters are able to circumvent many of the security features used by banks today, including some two-factor authentication systems.

"Consumers need to be aware of threats when banking online, but that is not to say that they should not do it," said Hyppönen.

"Our research shows that a lot of people are concerned about using their credit card online but, if they follow a simple set of rules, banking online can be safe."

F-Secure recommends that, when performing any kind of financial transaction online, users should be careful to check that the website address is spelled correctly and that the site is properly secured.

Hyppönen added that users should err on the side of caution, and stop immediately if they have any doubts about a site.