Consumers want internet security to be provided by banks

Consumers would choose their banks to provide them with the tools needed to secure their internet access above internet service providers or security vendors, according to new research.

Analysis of existing cyber security threats by financial services research firm Javelin Strategy and Research found that around four out of 10 consumers lack identity protection tools when going online, and more than half of those access the internet do so without anti-virus installed.

“We found that consumers actually prefer obtaining identity protection services from their financial institutions to any other source – including independent security companies and credit bureaus – by a more than a 2-to-1 ratio,” said James Van Dyke, president of Javelin.

As part of its security assessment, Javelin reported an increase in the number of targeted phishing attacks – also known as speak phishing. Fraudsters are using information gleaned from data breaches to augment their knowledge about their targets and increase the likelihood of a successful attack, said Van Dyke.

Earlier in 2011, analyst firm Ovum warned that crooks were increasingly turning to spear phishing to engage in acts of industrial espionage.

That warning came in the wake of a large number of attacks on high profile firms, including Google, Qinetic, Johnson & Johnson and DuPont, which were all targeted in the so-called Opreation Aurora attacks of 2009.