Business
Ensuring Safety and Security of Digital Banking: Financial Experts Allay Cyberattack Concerns
Financial experts assure customers that digital banking is secure amid concerns about cyberattacks. Financial institutions have invested heavily in security features to protect customer accounts.
5 min read
Originally published by barbadostoday.bb (opens in new tab)
Amid concerns about cyberattacks, local financial experts are assuring there’s no need for undue concern about digital banking.
In fact, they say financial institutions are taking no chances when it comes to protecting their customers, and they have advised clients to take their own precautions by being more vigilant.
The safety of digital banking emerged as a talking point at the Leveraging Digital Banking for Your Business seminar at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Wednesday evening.
The event, which targeted owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, is a precursor to a Digital Banking Lounge that will be hosted at the upcoming KLOTH Lifestyle Pop-Up Shop & Expo.
The Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union Limited (BPWCCUL) Chief Operations Officer Richard Kennedy told the audience that financial institutions across the board have been investing heavily in security features to offer strong protection.
“So, even if you were a bit careless, even if you didn’t understand what you needed to do in terms of protecting yourself, even if you got that phishing email or what have you, there are a number of things that the financial institutions have invested in making sure we protect your money with us.
“Even if you don’t know everything, knowing that there’s a measure of comfort that you can have that the banks have spent thousands and thousands of dollars literally on an ongoing basis as well as in terms of the upfront investment in protecting your investment, your cash, using digital channels,” he said.
On Tuesday, the BPWCCUL fended off a breach that threatened membership card accounts. Group Chief Executive Officer Glyne Harrison told Barbados TODAY that the institution had discovered that international hackers were attempting to breach the card accounts, but they were blocked through the credit union’s fraud detection system.
The Barbados Workers’ Union Credit Union Manager for Information Security Antonio Arthur said the transition to chip-and-pin technology had significantly improved security.
“I know we would have had issues in the past with card skimming, and you know, we spared no expense in rolling out a solution that is now going to prevent that kind of situation from ever occurring again,” he pointed out.
Arthur also identified the introduction of two-factor authentication to access accounts as part of the security protocols.
