Australia’s major banks sound the alarm on cyber ‘war’: ‘the entire community is at risk’

go through David TaylorAmerican Broadcasting Corporation

National Australia Bank group head of investigations Chris Sheehan said Australia’s “big four” banks were under constant attack.

“Every bank. Every bank is under attack at any time.”

Australia’s four largest banks are under cyber attack every minute of every day, with customers becoming increasingly vulnerable to scams, it has been revealed.

Attackers attempt to gain access to a bank’s computer systems, deny service to customers, use malicious code or compromise secure logins.

What is the purpose of these attacks?

“If we weren’t attacked, then our customers were attacked with the intent to steal their information and their money.

“There is no typical demographic.

“The whole community is at risk,” Chris Sheehan told ABC Today’s world.

Indeed, Chris Sheen puts it bluntly – there is a war going on there.

“We are engaged in asymmetric warfare every day,” he said.

“We’re dealing with a variety of different types of threat actors.

“From the proverbial loser Larry, banging away on a laptop in his basement at home, trying to steal people’s money or break into systems, all the way to the highly sophisticated, ruthless and resilient transnational organised crime syndicates who are behind 90 per cent of the frauds that happen to victims in Australia.

“And then at the very high end, we’re dealing with nation-state actors, malicious nation-state actors.

“So, this is asymmetric warfare.

“It changes every day,” Sheehan said.

Large-scale theft

Cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt said cyber criminals were defrauding Australians of up to $US3 billion (NZ$3.3 billion) a year through scams.

While he was reluctant to call the attacks a “war”, he said the public was not well aware of the extent of cyber attacks on Australian financial institutions.

“I think most people don’t realize how common cyberattacks are, probably in part because they don’t realize that they do come from all over the world, from all kinds of different people.”

“There are attacks online, attacks on individuals, attacks on companies.

“It’s really common,” Hunter said.

He believes the dramatic increase in cyber crime is linked to the perceived lower risk compared to physical bank robbery.

The risks involved in engaging in cybercrime are different for countries where offenders are less likely to be extradited.

“The risks are completely different. The rewards are completely different.”

“It’s not about taking cash from the register, it’s about taking hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars at a time,” Hunt said.

Daily Defense

Finally, major banks, including NAB, have stepped up their cyber defences.

“We have a call centre and an operations team focused on fraud and scams, about 350 to 400 people who are on the phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to serve customers,” Sheehan said.

Like other institutions, NAB has told customers it is no longer sending text messages with links to customers, so if a text message contains a link, customers know it is a scam.

However, Mr Sheehan acknowledged that once a bank customer hits the “send” button on a fraudulent payment, it is often impossible to recover the money.

“If something looks or sounds too good to be true, or if there’s pressure on you to pay, saying you’re going to miss out on something or you’re going to be penalized if you don’t pay, those are huge red flags.

“If you receive a story (whether by text, email or otherwise) that contains any of these elements, don’t hit send payment, just run.

“Ask your bank for advice, speak to a friend or relative, but don’t hit send.”

The Australian Banking Association, which represents the banking industry, agrees with NAB that Australia’s financial institutions are effectively at war.

“Our country is in the midst of a war on fraud,” an Australian Banking Association spokesperson told the ABC.

“Banks are working around the clock to protect Australians from scams, and the industry continues to invest record amounts in the latest anti-fraud technology to protect customers.

“The additional protections put in place by banks will help ensure fewer Australians lose their money to scams perpetrated by international criminal gangs.”

The Australian Bankers Association says Australian banks’ anti-fraud protections are among the strongest in the world.

– This article was originally published by ABC