Tech Talk: responding to ransomware, a blockchain boost, secure mobile banking, and more!

• Mobile banking more secure
• Wartime tech for card security
• Responding to ransomware
• Sink phishing campaigns
• More FIs add Apple Pay
• Clarity money app
• A NextGen solution for banks
• A boost for blockchain
• New year, new blockchain tech
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches and Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

Mobile banking more secure
Today's tech-savvy consumers have come to rely heavily on the use of their mobile devices for shopping, making payments, and banking. According to the Federal Reserve, 67 percent of U.S. millennials (the next-generation of bank customers) use mobile banking. Those who are not banking with their mobile devices cite the security of mobile banking apps as their main concern. As banks develop more secure mobile banking apps, adoption of the technology increases. Finextra has the details.

Wartime tech for card security
With the exponential growth in card fraud and sophisticated ways fraudsters are bypassing card security measures, banks, retailers and card issuers are at war with cybercriminals. Technology similar to that used in World War II for deciphering foreign traffic is being patented by a major UK bank to deploy new bank card encryption technology in the fight against card fraud. Seeker has the details.

Responding to ransomware
Ransomware is fast becoming one of the most lucrative crimes perpetrated by cybercriminals – who netted an estimated $1 billion last year. Many individuals and businesses (including banks and government offices) have given in to these hi-tech hijackers to regain access to their data. A new law that went into effect in California on January 1 is designed to deter criminals from deploying ransomware, reports eSecurity Planet. If your organization falls victim to the malicious malware, Krebs on Security has some tips on how to respond to ransomware.

Sink phishing campaigns
Most ransomware campaigns and other malicious malware attacks are initiated via targeted phishing ploys that exploit network vulnerabilities or rely on human weaknesses. The most effective measures financial institutions and other organizations can take to sink phishing attacks before they hook their victims is to have rapid, real-time detection and response programs in place. Infosec Island has the details.

More FIs add Apple Pay
While it's a popular adage, an apple a day may not actually keep the doctor away...but it does have health benefits. Financial institutions who incorporate Apple's digital payment platform Apple Pay can deliver tangible benefits to their customers, providing them with the ability to securely store their bank cards in their mobile phones so they can shop where they want, when they want and how they want – with the assurance that their transactions are safe and secure. More financial institutions are leveraging the benefits of Apple's mobile payment platform. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Clarity money app
Saving money and improving their money management abilities are at the top of many consumers' New Year's resolutions. There's a revolutionary new app for that! A team of top financial and technology veterans, led by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Adam Dell, have launched a personal finance app that deploys data science and artificial intelligence to go beyond basic financial management and help consumers save money. Finextra has the details.

A NextGen solution for banks
A New Year is bright with new opportunities...which, especially for financial institutions, often brings new risks to manage. Banking software solutions provider Baker Hill is launching a next-generation cloud-based platform that can help banks leverage automation and data analytics for loan origination, risk management and reporting, and enhanced customer service. Business Wire has the details.

A boost for blockchain
Blockchain was one of the hottest buzzwords in technology in 2016. As we enter 2017, an innovation group co-founded by a leading global Blockchain technology company plans to increase awareness and promote the many benefits of the distributed ledger technology for its use in various industries. CNBC has the details.

New year, new blockchain tech
While proponents of blockchain technology take steps toward increasing awareness and use of the innovative technology, the technology is coming along on its own right with developments in the financial industry and other sectors already underway this year. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

• Help Net Security: Practice safe Wi-Fi security and surfing
• Threatpost: Android malware targets routers, turns victims into accomplices
• PC World: Critical flaw leaves Drupal, WordPress and other websites at risk
• Threatpost: Gigs of personal data on DoD healthcare providers exposed by third-party

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current activity
• InfoWorld: Time to update Windows and Office
• Security Week: Google Patches 22 Critical Android Vulnerabilities
• Security Week: Tor Browser Patches Start Being Uplifted into Firefox

See what other current hot cyber and technology topics affecting financial institutions BOL users are discussing in the Technology Forum.

On the lighter side...

Apple has released a new product that highlights its innovative technology. Late-night talk-show host Stephen Colbert highlights some of the key features of the Apple Book, including its "touch page technology" that lets you swipe to move from one page to the next.