(2-Dec-2011) With Google Inc.'s Android mobile operating system increasingly finding itself in the sights of malicious software, Canadian banks are facing a new enemy on the mobile frontier.
Reports of Android malware have increased sharply in recent months, with Juniper Networks reporting that as many as 55 per cent of Android applications are not what they seem. It’s a disturbing trend, but financial information is not being targeted in significant way, say banks and industry experts. At least, not yet.
"We're constantly monitoring all these threats that are out there,” says Vinay Venugopal, head of IT strategy at ING, the first bank in Canada to offer cross-platform mobile banking. “We keep a close eye on things.”
The company keeps abreast of the latest news, both good and bad. So far, ING clients haven’t reported significant Android security breaches. But Venugopal says the popularity of the technology means new forms of mobile fraud are at our doorstep. “We see mobile as being the channel of the future, especially with the prevalence of tablets.”