Tech Talk: New payment card specs, card fraud, voice banking, and more!

• New IIN specs fo payment cards
• Not-so-silent hacking group
• Skimmers targeting older ATMs
• Card fraud security solutions
• AI bolsters bank competition
• Cyber risk rising in financial services
• The future of voice banking
• Bank cloud security concerns
• Crypto wallet security solutions
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches & Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

New IIN specs for payment cards
To accommodate the increasing number of global card issuers, the IIN (issuer identification number) – the first six digits of the primary account number (PAN) on debit and credit cards that identifies the card issuer – will be expanded to eight digits long in 2021. Payment card standards body EMVCo has released a Draft Specification Bulletin (DSB) outlining proposed payment system changes to support the longer IINs and soliciting feedback before the proposed changes are finalized, reports ATM Marketplace.

Not-so-silent hacking group
The Russian-speaking hacking group known as Silence, and infamous for its nefarious tactics targeting banks, is branching out and becoming more sophisticated. According to a new report from cybersecurity firm Group-IB, the group is developing new malware to refine its techniques, adding reconnaissance email to its hacking process, and using a range of tools that enable them to move laterally across a victim’s network and to control ATM machines. Increasing the frequency of their attacks, the group has successfully pilfered $3.5 million in the past year, reports Security Week.

Skimmers targeting older ATMs
One of the most common methods cyber thieves use to steal credit and debit card numbers that are used in cashout and enumeration attacks is card skimming. Older ATM models with traditional card readers, standalone ATMs, and gas pumps that still rely on magnetic stripe technology are prime targets for skimmers. ATM Marketplace has the details and more of the latest trends in card skimming.

Card fraud security solutions
Payment fraud not only leads to heavy financial losses, but can cause banks and merchants serious reputational damage in the process. A Forrester Consulting global bank account-related fraud study found that ATM cashout attacks and enumeration attacks (automated testing of credentials to gain unauthorized access) are the most prevalent types of payment fraud. Global payments provider Visa has launched a suite of new industry-first payment security services and capabilities to help its client banks and merchants prevent and disrupt payment fraud, reports Security Week.

AI bolsters bank competition
When it comes to managing their finances, today's tech-savvy consumers want it all – a secure, omnichannel, 24/7, personalized banking experience tailored to their needs and expectations. A growing number of fintech startups and challenger banks are entering the digital banking space with innovative services that appeal to those tech-savvy customers. Advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), can help legacy financial institutions leverage data to their competitive advantage to create relevant, customer experiences that are on par with, or exceed, those offered by challenger banks. PYMNTS has the details.

Cyber risk rising in financial services
While it's become essential for financial institutions to adopt digital banking strategies to compete against challenger banks and remain relevant in the financial marketplace, the same digital channels banks use to engage customers are increasingly being exploited by sophisticated cybercriminals. According to a 2019 Financial Services Digital Threat Report released by cyber security firm ZeroFOX, the financial services sector has experienced a more than 50 percent annual increase in targeted digital threat activity, reports Dark Reading. Research and Markets has released a Cybersecurity in Financial Services report that explores the current cybersecurity landscape in the financial services space, including the key types of threats and the risks those threats pose to banks as well as users. PR Newswire has the details.

The future of voice banking
Advances in AI and machine learning are fundamentally reshaping how banks interact and communicate with customers. Voice-activated technology, particularly popular conversational assistants like Siri and Alexa, is driving the digital banking landscape toward an even more touchless experience. As the technology and its security improves, and becomes more widely adopted by consumers, the financial services industry will evolve toward a voice banking era, reports Payments Journal. As is often the case, cybercriminals are leveraging the emerging technology to their advantage. The Better Business Bureau has reported that scammers are tweaking search results to fool voice assistants into supplying bogus resources. Sophos has the details.

Bank cloud security concerns
Embracing the digital age comes with inherent risks for the financial sector. In the wake of the Capital One hack, a senior official at the European Central Bank (ECB) issued an ominous warning of impending cyber attacks as banks rely more heavily on third-party tech providers and external data storage, a.k.a., the cloud. The ECB's director general, Korbinian Ibel, referred to cloud systems as "juicy targets" that put banks on the hacking radar. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Crypto wallet security solutions
With public and private sector firms jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, the Financial Action Task Force recently issued a new set of global AML rules which calls on crypto exchanges to share personal information about their users with each other. To enhance the security of digital currency wallets – which rely on customers remembering and securing private keys that control wallet access – Bank of America has filed a patent application for a multi-tiered security system for digital currency wallets. Banking Dive has the details.

Spams, Scams and Breaches

• FBI.gov: Observant banker stopped ID thief
• Sophos: Serious security phishing in the cloud
• Threatpost: It's shaping up to be a record year for data breaches
• Finextra: Hackers targeted European Central Bank's Bird website
• Krebs on Security: Cybercriminals routing malicious traffic through residential networks

Updates, Patches and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current Activity
• Forbes: Microsoft confirms new Windows 10 upgrade warning
• Sophos: Update now! Microsoft patches its Android RDP app to fix flaw
• ZDNet Microsoft rolls out two more Windows 19H2 builds, one with more new enterprise features

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...

Marketing your brand doesn't have to be boring. One bank created a microsite that delivers fun content on human interest topics in an effort to create greater brand awareness and connections to bank-specific content. Check out their humorous take on wives experiencing the selective vision their husbands often seem to have.