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Banks at risk as XP support ends [ITWeb](ITWeb Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Banks and other financial institutions are the most likely to be at risk when support for Windows XP comes to an end this week. So says security software company Trend Micro, noting that the vulnerabilities in the software will become so extreme they will pose a significant threat to financial institutions and banks. This may lead to these parties shutting off access to online banking systems for Windows XP users all together. Trend Micro has reported that from 2012 to 2013, detections of online banking malware more than doubled from 500 000 worldwide in 2012 to over one million in 2013. In the latter period, the US and Brazil alone accounted for 50%, or 500 000 detections, of online banking malware. The security company warns that these figures, coupled with the number of attacks on banks, combined with the loss of support for Windows XP is creating a perfect storm for vulnerabilities. This skyrocketing online banking malware, combined with a coming slew of never-to-be-patched vulnerabilities, means that online banking on Windows XP is going to become incredibly dangerous soon. According to Trend Micro, while there is a risk to the users of Windows XP systems, the real risk is to the banks of these users who are trying to access the banking systems, as they bring their "dirty washing" with them each time they log on to a system. What options are available to banks and financial institutions? Trend Micro asks, warning that the options are dwindling fast, and need to move beyond warnings. "We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that warnings alone will be sufficient. And as time goes on, this situation will become worse and worse. Banks and financial institutions should also start considering the drastic measure of actively blocking users on Windows XP from using their online services entirely," says Christopher Budd, Trend Micro's threat communications manager. (c) 2014 ITWeb Limited. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |