A European mobile security company, Pradeo, tested mobile banking applications with startling results. The company found that 50 of the world’s largest 100 banks had completely vulnerable mobile applications. Pradeo used simple techniques and combined techniques to test the applications. All 50 that it studied were found vulnerable. This means that hackers can retrieve account or transaction information and steal passwords among other possibilities. The article goes on to mention that mobile technology is still relatively new as compared to established technology like computers and laptops. With this, security measures are better on the established technologies while mobile security is still evolving.
The most interesting fact from this study is that 71% of people that use mobile banking are confident in its security. Throughout the blog posts, we’ve debated the issue of security in fintech, but what’s more interesting is how people have ‘blind faith’ in these large scale mobile apps. It will be interesting to see how new regulations play a role in security issues. Additionally, I wonder if the publishing of this report will dissuade users from using their mobile banking apps and what that means for the role of fintech in mobile banking. This security issue may cause delays in the integration of fintech and mobile applications.
https://www.cyberscoop.com/testing-pradeo-100-percent-mobile-banking-applications-vulnerable/