Finance

Global financial services organizations are targeted by sophisticated cyber attackers in an attempt to steal critical data, according to a new report.

The study from threat hunting company Vectra says attackers build 'hidden tunnels' masquerading as other web traffic to break into networks and access critical data and personal information. These tunnels are used to remotely control an attack and steal data while remaining largely undetected.

Analysis of malware samples found among finance firms has uncovered an unusually large number of iSpy keylogger samples. iSpy is a variant of the notorious HawkEye logger.

Network-based malware protection specialist Lastline intercepted the logger's communication with the command and control server and detected the active exfiltration of website, email and FTP credentials, as well as license key information for installed products.

Over the past year, I’ve spent a lot of time with companies across different industries, listening and working to understand their unique needs. As their respective landscapes evolve, it’s clear that each of them is looking for technology that accelerates the execution of their most imperative objectives. With that in mind, I want to take a look at a few specific industries, examining issues they face as well as their plans for innovating for the future. First up: financial services.

From my perspective, there are three pivotal shifts underway.

Music streaming service Spotify is planning to go public. The company is making a "novel" move which it acknowledges is "risky": opting for a "direct listing" rather than the more usual fundraising route.

The company will allow its investors and employees to sell shares, and there will be no need to raise more capital or hire an underwriter. It is expected that Spotify will go public in late March or early April when it will appear on the New York Stock Exchange using the symbol SPOT.

Amazon is a company that isn’t afraid to take risks, and try new things. Some of its ideas -- like the Echo -- paid off handsomely, while other gambles, like the Amazon Fire Phone, failed miserably.

Amazon is also happy to splash the cash to expand its reach, buying Whole Foods in 2017, and Ring this week. But where can Amazon go next? LendEDU ran a poll of 1,000 American consumers who had purchased something from Amazon in the last 30 days, and asked them whether they’d be interested in using an Amazon-created cryptocurrency for purchases, or banking with the retail giant. The results may surprise you.

Legacy technology can be a major obstacle to digital transformation projects and, according to a new survey of financial services technology decision makers carried out for business consultancy Janeiro Digital, almost 51 percent say existing technology is holding back innovation.

Three of the biggest roadblocks are seen as lack of support for change (34 percent), legacy technology and infrastructure (31.6 percent) and a lack of in-house technical skill (29.5 percent).

It has been something of a rocky ride for cryptocurrencies recently, and none more so than Bitcoin. Now Lloyd's Banking Group has announced a ban on purchasing cryptocurrencies using credit cards in the UK.

The banking group controls Lloyd's Bank, Halifax, MBNA and Bank of Scotland, and the ban has been triggered by the deflation of Bitcoin. In recent months it has spiraled from a high of almost $20,000 to under $8,000.

Secure Shell (SSH) provides a secure channel for communication over unsecured networks and is therefore a popular technology in the financial services sector.

But a new study for machine identity protection company Venafi shows that even though SSH keys provide the highest levels of administrative access, they are routinely untracked, unmanaged and poorly secured.

The Paradise Papers -- a massive cache of documents leaked to newspapers and journalists -- reveal the tax avoidance strategies used by millionaires, billionaires and businesses around the world. The leaks comprise over 13 million documents, and it shows the financial structure and offshore accounts for many big-name companies.

Included in the list is Apple -- a company already known to have taken advantage of the "double Irish" tax loophole in Ireland to massively reduce its tax bill. The Paradise Papers show that Apple made use of another tax haven after it faced criticism for its exploitation of Irish taxes and a clampdown on the loophole.

The UK is continuing to embrace mobile and contactless payments as the impact of cash continues to decline, new figures have revealed.

British consumers and businesses are increasingly shunning physical money in favor of card and online payments, according to the UK Cash and Cash Machines 2017 report from watchdog UK Finance.

Organizations in the financial services sector are forced to innovate in order to stay relevant. At the same time, innovation is being slowed down by the need to keep data and applications safe, putting organizations in this vertical in quite a tough spot.

This conclusion was given out in a new report by Claranet. The report says that striking the right balance between innovation and security is becoming a "key competitive differentiator" in the sector.

UK payment processor Worldpay is the subject of a £9.3 billion ($12.1 billion) takeover by US rival Vantiv. The merged company will be known simply as Worldpay and will be headquartered in Cincinnati, but run from New York and London.

In the deal, Vantiv is paying £8 billion ($10.4 billion) for Worldpay, plus an additional £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) to cover debts. It is one of the biggest takeovers of a UK company since the Brexit vote of 2016.