Tech Talk: Crypto regulation and risks, Millennials and ATMs, icons vs PINs, and more!

• Congress on cryptocurrency
• A cryptocurrency risk strategy
• Money laundering harbors
• PSDs impact on security
• Trojan phishing for bank data
• Serving Millennials at the ATM
• Replacing PINs with icons
• Stolen card data sales are up
• The value of innovative bank tech
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches & Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

Congress on cryptocurrency
In the recent indictments of 12 Russian hackers for their alleged involvement in hacking DNC emails during the 2016 U.S. elections, it was revealed that Bitcoin was used to fund the hackers' exploits. Despite its controversial use to aid cybercriminals, during a congressional hearing this week Washington policymakers had some positive remarks on the impact that cryptocurrency and digital assets can have for the economy and processes. Forbes has the details.

A cryptocurrency risk strategy
Cryptocurrency and the regulatory challenges surrounding the volatile currency and the distributed ledger technology that underpins it are a hot topic in government circles and the financial industry. For the most part, banks have been sitting on the cryptocurrency sideline, but they should have a strategy in place for the technology's potential impact on them and its inherent security risks. PaymentsSource has the details.

Money laundering harbors
Advances in technology are making it easier for nefarious actors to conduct criminal activities and process their illicitly gained funds. Decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchanges are providing an attractive means to an end for cybercriminals due to the lack of accountability, security and transparency measures these money laundering havens provide for thieves. Threatpost has the details.

PSD2's impact on security
In today's evolving technological landscape, regulation and innovation go hand-in-hand, particularly in the financial sector, where it can be a double-edged sword. Advances in technology often drive policymakers to address concerns through prohibitive regulations and, on the flip side, new regulations may create the need for updated processes and technology to comply with regulatory changes. The implementation of PSD2 (Payment Service Directive) in Europe has far-reaching implications for the global financial industry and is spurring the need for stronger, more risk-based authentication measures, reports Global Banking Finance and Review.

Trojan phishing for bank data
Today's sophisticated cyber thieves often resort to creative ways to launch their stealthy attacks against banks and bank customers for nefarious gain. Security firm Trustwave has uncovered a phishing campaign that delivers a newly-discovered DanaBot banking trojan under the guise of invoices from Australian accounting and software provider MYOB, reports Threatpost.

Serving Millennials at the ATM
With a population of more than 80 million, Millennials are the largest generation in America's history and represent an estimated $1.3 trillion in annual consumer spending. While banks tend to concentrate their Millennial marketing efforts on digital products, they should also focus on simple banking strategies that appeal to this generation. Harland-Clark has a free eBook on How to Master the Millennial Market. According to a Federal Reserve study, Millennials use cash more than other demographic groups in the U.S. Since they are likely to access that cash at the ATM, banks can leverage ATM marketing strategies to win over Millennials. ATM Marketplace has the details.

Replacing PINs with icons
According to a new survey conducted by FICO and 72 Point, Americans want their personal data to be protected, but they aren't happy with current online and mobile security measures. Out of mounting frustration, some mobile users will abandon PINs, passwords and other authentication methods altogether. A group of researchers in China have developed an alternative login method that relies on a sequence of graphical icons working semantically. Help Net Security has the details.

Stolen card data sales are up
Short of not using credit and debit cards at all, every consumer is at risk of having their card data stolen online, via mobile devices, at the ATM, or through sophisticated social engineering scams. Stolen card data is then sold on the dark web to the highest bidder. According to a new report released by cyber intelligence firm IntSights, the number of hacked credit card sales rose 135 percent from the first half of 2017 through the first half of 2018, representing an increase from roughly 2,400 credit cards per bank to more than 4,000. The report also highlighted an uptick in fake mobile banking apps and social media pages that purport to be credible financial institutions. Financial Regulation News has the details.

The value of innovative bank tech
Consumers are rapidly adopting the latest technology that gives them quick and easy access to their financial accounts. More than doubling the number of users in less than a month, Bank of America has reported that its AI-driven virtual financial assistant has more has more than 2 million users. Helping customers understand the value innovative technology, such as artificial intelligence, adds to their financial applications can be a key factor to the technology's successful deployment, reports ATM Marketplace.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

• eWeek: Global BEC losses hit $12.5 billion
• Help Net Security: Retail data breaches are soaring
• Threatpost: Bigger, smarter and more diverse DDoS attacks
• Security Week: A ransomware response and readiness solution
• ComputerWeekly: Cryptomining slows down, backdoor malware attacks speed up
• ATM Marketplace: Latest EAST update highlights new Android malware and ATM malware

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current Activity
• Softonic: Future Windows 10 updates will be much faster
• Security Week: Oracle patches record 334 vulnerabilities in July 2018
• Threatpost: Critical authentication flaws in Cisco Policy Suite patched

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

And on the lighter side...

It's been heating up across America as the dog days of summer are underway. How can you beat the heat? There is some cool tech for that, including a creative way to stay cool at the MLB All-Star games.