News

Symantec, Wincor link up on financial self-service security

October 14, 2012

Symantec, a provider of security, backup and availability solutions, and Wincor Nixdorf, a provider of IT solutions for bank branches and retail stores, have announced a new partnership, with the aim of making self-service banking solutions from different global vendors even more secure.

Within the framework of its security portfolio, ProTect, Wincor Nixdorf now offers version 2.0 of its PC/E Terminal Security — Intrusion Protection — and will present the solution for the first time at Wincor World 2012, October 16–18, in Rheda Wiedenbrück, Germany.

The program includes core components of Symantec Critical System Protection software, a comprehensive security solution that protects systems from digital sabotage and attacks from outside.

"Cyber attacks today are carried out with ever greater precision and are easier than ever to launch … " said Doug Bowers, vice president of engineering at Symantec. "Financial institutions are popular, highly profitable targets, so it is vital that they make considerable efforts to protect the information and assets of their customers from theft. By cooperating with a leading IT solution provider for retail banking and adapting the solution for the self-service delivery channel, we offer banks major value add."

Wincor Nixdorf Intrusion Protection 2.0 was designed specifically for requirements in the self-service market. It protects  systems and networks from attacks by worms and viruses, ensuring protection from unauthorized changes such as manipulation of the configuration.

The software operates according to the white-listing principle that anything not explicitly known cannot gain access. This makes it possible to ward off hitherto unknown attacks. In contrast to conventional security software, the solution detects anomalies in running applications and takes immediate action.

In a news release, the companies said that Intrusion Protection features a low total cost of ownership and easy configuration, and comes to market with Symantec Critical System Protection for Windows 7.

According to Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, access data for bank accounts and credit card data are traded at high profit on the black market. These threats are increasing, sometimes in the form of targeted hacker attacks, targeted malicious code or man-in-the-middle attacks. In 2011, Symantec recorded 5.5 billion new malware variants, a figure 81 percent higher than in the previous year.

For more on this topic, visit the security research center.