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Malware a threat for mobile banking customers

August 11, 2013 by Kevin Christensen — Vice President, Audit, SHAZAM

This post concludes a series on risk assessment for mobile-banking apps.

Malware isn't just for computers anymore. Increasingly, the nasty little viruses are showing up in tablets, smartphones, and even kids' gaming devices. For financial institutions that provide mobile banking applications, this can pose a significant risk.

Mobile threat No. 11: A customer's mobile device becomes infected

Perpetrators use malware in various ways to steal information and identities and for many other devious reasons.

Although the threat of malware is typically isolated (meaning that only one or a few customers are affected at a time), it's a growing concern.

To lessen the risk:

Continue to educate customers about the use of public Wi-Fi connections, especially when using those connections to access (or worse, enroll in) online and mobile-banking systems. If possible, ask your webmaster and/or mobile provider to include reminders of the dangers of public Wi-Fi in each of your digital properties.
Monitor developments in the industry pertaining to available antivirus and malware detection software and communicate those updates to your customers.

These protections can go a long way toward bolstering smartphone and other mobile-device security.

Read more about mobile banking.