As the incidence of online identity theft has steadily climbed in recent months, banks and online retailers have struggled to stay on top of the problem and to protect their customers, whose personal financial information and online account details are coveted by criminals. But as problems like phishing scams change from e-crime phenomenon to endemic online threats, technology companies -- both large and small -- are bringing products and services to market that they claim can end, or greatly reduce, the threat of online identity theft.
These are some of the technologies aimed at curbing online identity theft:
-- Antiphishing toolbars: These lightweight applications, or applets, were some of the first tools specifically created to stop online scams like phishing. These free programs have been offered to customers by eBay Inc., Internet service providers (ISPs) EarthLink Inc. and America Online Inc. (AOL), and other companies, including GeoTrust Inc. and CoreStreet Ltd. The programs are usually plug-ins adding an extra toolbar to a user's Web browser interface. The programs verify Web site URLs (uniform resource locators) and warn about Web sites that hide their true addresses. Antiphishing tools are effective against phishing scams that use spam to direct Internet users to Web sites controlled by thieves, but designed to look like legitimate e-commerce sites. However, such tools do nothing to secure sensitive financial information online.
-- Antiphishing services: Phishing prevention services are designed to spot and thwart new threats, including brand monitoring services such as FraudProtect by MarkMonitor Inc., Symantec Corp.'s Online Fraud Management Solution, VeriSign Inc.'s AntiPhishing Solution and services by NameProtect Inc. Most of these services use a distributed network of sensors to monitor e-mail traffic, news groups and Web domain registrations, spotting new scams, such as phishing attacks. The services promise to enable companies to move quickly to crack down on fraudulent Web sites that use their names and also give customers advanced warning about scam e-mail messages making the rounds.
-- Payer authentication and smart cards: Online security advocates often cite smart cards as a cure-all for online fraud. The cards combine traditional plastic credit cards with microprocessor chips that can store far more information about the cardholder than older, magnetic-strip cards. Among other things, smart cards can store PINs (personal identification numbers) or biometric identifiers that could be used at the point of purchase to verify the purchaser's identity, making theft of an account number or credit card inconsequential.
Smart cards are ubiquitous in Europe, and the U.K. banking industry has recently launched a major, nation-wide rollout of smart card technology through its "Chip and PIN" program, which will replace magnetic-strip cards and do away with signed receipts for "card present" purchases. But banking officials in the U.S. cite a number of obstacles to widespread smart card use, including an existing infrastructure of millions of card readers that do not support the new cards.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
2 Recommendations
