: anniversary / technology special

Banesco’s Hacker free online banking

By María Carolina Sánchez

Between January and June, Banesco Banco Universal processed an average of 39, seven million transactions per month to 1,417,292 clients through BanescOnline. During the first semester Banesco's Telephone Banking registered an average of 1.9 million transactions per month. It also has 1,318 ATMs, 46,536 POS terminals, 316 self-service equipments and 282 checkbook dispensers.
Among the advantages of Banesco's Electronic Banking Service stands out the many ways a customer can finish his/her transaction (Internet, telephone banking). Banesco's Electronic Banking has incorporated services such as balance check through SMS, online pre-approval to the Internet CrediCarro (a car loan), balance check from CADIVI, services and credit card payments of their own and of a third party, and also the most traditional: electronic funds transfers to their own account or to a third party.

How the user's security is guaranteed and how is he/she protected from electronic fraud?

Nowadays, technology's accelerated evolution, the new schemes and modalities to commit fraud, the level of conformation and specialization of the theft organizations and the speed at which the laws and control mechanisms become obsolete, have caused the fall of ancient paradigms that established that all the systems and product's security offered to clients depend 100% on the institutions' protection capacity.
Nowadays definitely that's not the case, as a result of this new reality that has caused the security and control schemes to prevent fraud to depend more on the active participation of users and clients that take advantage of systems and of the electronic banking.
In that sense, one of the main keys to succeed is the constant client education in terms of security, so as to encourage clients to develop a prevention mentality, and a familiarization with the use of electronic services and devices, such as virtual bank, cards, ATMs and POS terminals, among others. All this information is easily available through the website www.banesco.com .
We are the only Internet bank in Venezuela with the "Hacker Safe" certificate, given by Mcafee to the sites with the highest security standards. The certificate is based on the fact that BanescOnline constantly monitors the new threats available in Internet, that affect the security of the transactions made through this service.

How does the new credit card law affect Internet banking?

The charge of finding the culprits of thefts, robberies, identity theft and falsification has always been in the hands of the security areas from the financial entities. In the case of Banesco, the card data is only used at the moment of service affiliation, and after that some stronger identification processes separated from the card product are unveiled.
In case that a client has been a victim of any criminal abuse, the online banking service won't be affected, and it certainly won't put at risk the client's sensitive and confidential information.

Which innovations in security devices exist nowadays in Venezuela for ATMs?

We have been working in the ATMs security incorporating systems that allow the transactions from the ATM to the bank and from the bank to the ATM travel in a safe way, minimizing the possibility of an interruption and stealing of the data in the middle of that communication.
Additionally, we have monitoring systems over the ATMs that can detect the possible use of these devices to obtain the client's cards data and commit fraud. Each day we are investigating during constant research of new technologies and procedures to improve security in electronic transactions and, therefore, in the ATMs.

What should a user do to be safe while doing an online transaction?

The most important thing is to use a safe computer. What is a safe computer? It is one that counts with an updated antivirus or an installed Firewall, and with the latest updated patches of the operating system and its explorer (Microsoft Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, among others) up-to-date. Many users pay special attention during the transaction process, but not before or after it.
When a user is online, he or she opens the computer to the world, and because of that, it is important to be careful of not executing applications and programs of doubtless origin, and also never answer or pay attention to any e-mail that asks for an update of the sensitive bank data (users, card numbers, passwords).
It is also important to be very careful with compact discs of illegal software that sometimes can contain spy programs that may put security at risk. And, at last, if you notice any suspicious activity, do not hesitate to call the bank and notify it. Banesco has published on its security section from the website some links with well-known security tools (some of them available for free) that exist on the market, which we recommend for a proactive use. |||