Cryptocurrency fuels ransomware payments

Cryptocurrency fuels ransomware payments and without regulation, it could get much worse. The rapid ascent of crypto, like other emerging technologies before it, has far outpaced the federal government's ability to regulate it.

 

Read the full article HERE.

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 7 May)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• DevOps Essential for Digital Innovation in Banking & Financial Services
• Kaspersky spots CIA malware with backdoor capabilities
• WhatsApp Delays Privacy Policy Changes After Confusion Backlash
• Implementing AI in Your Business: What Business Leaders Need to Know
• What happens if threat data isn't shared?
• Undergraduates explore practical applications of artificial intelligence
• UK tools up against China’s intel gathering
• Types of Artificial Intelligence – Weak, Strong and Super AI
• Warning: ‘Hundreds Of Millions At Risk’ From 12-Year-Old Vulnerabilities Lying Deep In Dell PCs
• Combining Three Pillars Of Cybersecurity
• Ransomware is now a national security risk. This group thinks it knows how to defeat it
• Cybersecurity Ignorance Is Dangerous
• 10 Types of Malware in 2021 and How to Spot Them

From our Blog

• Here comes official e-money
• Password managers - a necessary, yet vulnerable, last line of defense
• Bernie Madoff and Jordan Belfort and their criminal financial schemes
  

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 30 April)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• 'Open banking' is what 'banking' has rapidly become
• How BofA Grapples With The Increasingly Digital Small Business Market
• Papara: The Evolution of Challenger Banks and Competition
  
• When artificial intelligence learns to attack us
• Apple iOS Privacy Changes Prompt Complaint By German Business Groups
• 6 Ways Digital Is Transforming the Customer Journey In Banking
• Protecting Industrial Control Systems Against Cyberattacks
• Why WhatsApp users in Europe can opt-out of New WhatsApp privacy policy but users in India cannot?
• Gemini partners with Mastercard to launch crypto rewards card
• Why every website wants you to accept its cookies

From our Blog

• Moneyland, Kleptopia & On Corruption - How the corrupt operate
• The likely impact of central bank digital currencies on quantitative easing
• Cybercrime - Was this the most daring bank theft ever attempted?
• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) – A good investment or a setup for fraud?
• NatWest will not accept corporate customers who deal in cryptocurrencies
• Bernie Madoff - "It was inconceivable that he was a crook"

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 23 April)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Interesting to know

• Cybercrime - Was this the most daring bank theft ever attempted?
• NatWest will not accept corporate customers who deal in cryptocurrencies
• 8 Ways to Leverage the Internet of Things in Utilities
• What Can Smart Tech Be Used For?

Banks & Credit Unions

• UK Bank NatWest Bars Businesses That Accept Crypto
• Banks decide their place on the Citi-Goldman spectrum
• Nigerian banks’ dominance of their home turf is virtually unparalleled

Fintech

• Forget the piggy bank, Till Financial’s kids’ spend management app gets Gates’ backing
• Machine learning, explained
• Embedded Fintech Versus Embedded Finance: Jumpstarting New Product Innovation In Banks
• Internet of Things — Leap towards a hyper-connected world
• Top 8 IoT applications and examples in business

Payments

• Is the Coronavirus Killing Off Cash?
• COVID-19 pushed real-time payments to jump 41% in 2020, study finds

Cybersecurity

• 3 ways CISOs can align cybersecurity to business goals
• Marijuana is becoming more accepted. Will cybersecurity employers play along?
• A botnet named after Prometheus jumps is also exploiting Exchange Server flaws
• Nation-state cyber attacks could lead to cyber conflict
• India wants to block WhatsApp's controversial privacy policy update

 

 

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 16 April)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Interesting to Know

• The global system for combatting financial crime is hugely expensive and largely ineffective
• Bernie Madoff - "It was inconceivable that he was a crook"
• Why I hate the term ’embedded’
• Post-Pandemic Lessons for Risk Managers
• What are the most important Mobile Banking features?
• Ireland opens GDPR investigation into Facebook leak 

Banks & Credit Unions

• Why Big Banks Can’t Keep Pace With India’s Mobile Payments Revolution
• The digital trends disrupting the banking industry in 2021

Fintech

• ‘Screen scraping is not evil’: Bankers, fintechs, aggregators face off
• Embedded Fintech Versus Embedded Finance: Jumpstarting New Product Innovation In Banks
• Kenyan fintech tech startup secures funding to regionally expand
• FinTechs Targeting Underserved Communities

Payments

• India’s Mobile Payments Revolution Slowed Down by Tech Glitches at Big Banks
• Consumer credit payment patterns shift during pandemic

Cybersecurity

• IRS is probing the dark web to look for cryptocurrency and NFT tax evasion, says IRS commissioner
• Your Customer’s Bank or Credit Card Details Are Being Sold On the Dark Web. What Can You Do to Stop It?
• Would You Buy a Non-fungible Token? You Should Know Exactly What It Is Your Buying (but You Can’t!)
• How marketing principles can be used to enhance cybersecurity training
• 15 Cybersecurity Pitfalls and Fixes for SMBs

Artificial Intelligence

• How AI and Machine Learning Are Helping In Cybersecurity?
• Why every website wants you to accept its cookies

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 9 April)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Interesting to know

• bitcoin is dead, long live bitcoin! 
  
• What are the most important Mobile Banking features?
• Post-Pandemic Lessons for Risk Managers
• What Google's multibillion-dollar Supreme Court victory over Oracle means to developers
• How Much Revenue Big Tech Makes Every Minute

Banks & Credit Unions

• Citi hires FinCEN chief to lead compliance in bank's new unit
• The Most Popular Mobile Banking Trends In 2021
• How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Banking App?

Fintech

• Fintech Investments in Banking
• Fintech Chatbots: How AI Chatbots Play A Role In The Fintech Industry
• Eye on fintech: Why the mobile-first banking industry is hot

Payments

• Five Banks To Test FedNow Instant Payments System
• Buy now, pay later moves into professional services
• 6 Payments trends for 2021

Cybersecurity

• How to fix the top 5 cybersecurity vulnerabilities
• After digital payments rush, time to tighten security
• Evolving Cybercrime and Security Challenges: What are CISOs Thinking About?
• When Cybercrime Went from Fun to Financially Driven
• What Are the Different Types of Malware?

Artificial Intelligence

• Here's What AI Will Never Be Able to Do
• A Scientist Taught AI to Generate Pickup Lines. The Results are Chaotic.
• Sorry, Cannot Understand the Language. Wait Chatbots can
• This avocado armchair could be the future of AI

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 1 April)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Interesting to know

• How to Regulate Big Tech? Ideas from the BIS
• Digital Payments - US still in the Dark Ages

Banks & Credit Unions

• How the Best in Banking Are Marketing Their Mobile Apps
• 2021 Is the Year Banks Must Take Digital Challengers Seriously
• Marcus: A Digital Bank That Should Keep Rivals Up At Night
• How Open APIs Revolutionize Banking Services

Fintech

• Death by Fintech
• The disruptive trends & companies transforming digital banking services in 2021
• How Gen Z is Reinventing FinTech and Banking
• Nigeria's booming fintech space, and its top 13 players
• Banks or FinTech: who will get the “Ring of Power”?
• Fintech Chatbots: How AI Chatbots Play A Role In The Fintech Industry
• Fintech warning: Banking industry sees light at end of tunnel – an express train headed right at it

Payments

• PayPal launches crypto payment platform
• PayPal Sees No Letup for Online Shopping Even With Reopenings

Cybersecurity

• To Stop Future Hacks, Look to the Past
• CBA slapped with a court-enforceable undertaking after loss of data on 20m customers
• US Misses Two Cyber 'Pearl Harbor' Attacks
• Insurance Giant CNA Hit with Novel Ransomware Attack

Artificial Intelligence

• Using artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity
• Can AI be hypnotized?

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 26 March)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Interesting to know

• Digital Payments - US still in the Dark Ages
• Decentralized Finance - What it is and what it means
• Non-Fungible Tokens - Asset or Scam?
• Google Faces New Class Action Lawsuit for Privacy Violations

Banks & Credit Unions

• Bank of America sees DeFi as potentially more disruptive than bitcoin. The bank breaks down why DeFi is fundamental
• How Digital Banking Can Help Credit Unions Succeed In 2021
• Mobile banking in GCC surges due to Covid-19

Fintech

• Fintech companies must balance the pursuit of profit against ethical data usage
• Facebook Finally Explains Its Mysterious Wrist Wearable

Payments

• 7 Steps For Mobile Banking App Development
• UX Case Study: How to Create a Mobile Banking Super App
• The disruptive trends & companies transforming digital banking services in 2021 

Cybersecurity

• Cybersecurity, skills concerns hamper Singapore SMB digitalisation efforts
• What exactly does Truecaller do with your data? A hacker’s deep dive
• Building an Embedded Finance strategy: dos and don'ts
• 3 tips for mitigating cloud-related cybersecurity risks
• Why America will never be safe from cyberattacks

Artificial Intelligence

• The Spectacular Growth of Artificial Intelligence Today
• Top 100 Artificial Intelligence Companies in the World
• 5 Common Pain Points With Machine Learning And How To Solve Them

 

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 19 March)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Interesting to know

• Facebook Offers Content Creators New Ways To Earn Income
• The Microsoft Exchange hacks: How they started and where we are
• Dancing on the edge of your comfort zone
• Top 10 cybersecurity lessons learned one year into the pandemic
• Emerging Markets Driving the payments transformation

Banks & Credit Unions

• What We’ve Learned About Digital Banking in 2020
• Top Four Digital Trends for the Next Five Years
• Security Most Important To Retaining Mobile Banking Customers
• Bank branches will be extinct by 2034, fintech study finds
• How fintechs are working with banks to make them more green

Fintech

• Fintech companies must balance the pursuit of profit against ethical data usage
• Fintech Spotlight: JPMorgan Chase Looks To Digital Banking Innovation
• Top tech trends that will define fintech this year
• Cost to Develop Banking App and Crucial Features

Payments

• Amadeus, Mastercard Extend Collaboration For Virtual Card Travel Payments
• Flutterwave and PayPal collaborate to allow African merchants to accept and make payments

Cybersecurity

• Cyber Attacks: Is the ‘Big One’ Coming Soon?
• Hackers Rushed in as Microsoft Raced to Avert Mass Cyber-Attack
• Fifth-generation cyberattacks are here. How can the IT industry adapt?
• “Hacker Games” launched to challenge and improve cybersecurity skills
• Why Manufacturers Should Keep Cybersecurity Top of Mind

Artificial Intelligence

• AI in Cybersecurity: Six Considerations for 2021
• AI Behavioural Analysis in Banking: How Behavioral Signals is Changing Customer Interaction
• 5 Emerging AI And Machine Learning Trends To Watch In 2021

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 12 March)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

The Pandemic

• The COVID-19 pandemic - one year in

Banks & Credit Unions

• Arizona group aims to jump-start European-style open banking in U.S.
• Wells Fargo Ditches Abbot Downing Name for Ultra-Rich Clients

Fintech

• Mood swing – China’s government is cracking down on fintech. What does it want?
• What to expect from the fintech industry in 2021

Payments

• BNP Paribas rolls out A2A instant payments for e-commerce merchants
• New car tipping app arrives for Sonic carhops
• US, UK Firms Prioritize Innovation To Speed X-Border Payment Flows

Cybersecurity

• Fintech Cybersecurity Threats You Should Know About
• It may be worth paying, but online privacy comes at a price
• Top 10 types of information security threats for IT teams
• Watch Out! New Android Banking Trojan Steals From 112 Financial Apps

Artificial Intelligence

• Top 10 predictions of how AI is going to improve cybersecurity In 2021
• Top 10 Artificial Intelligence Technologies Making a Breakthrough in 2021
• Deep Learning vs Machine Learning: What Your Firm Needs to Know

TOP READS OF THE WEEK (for week ending 5 March)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management

In this weeks selection;

Banks & Credit Unions

• The disruptive trends & companies transforming digital banking services in 2021
• Is the Coronavirus Killing Off Cash?
• Why the rest of the world should care about innovation in Africa
• Innovative banking and finance trends for 2021
• How CUs Can Meet Innovation Expectations

Fintech

• Fintech Changes Will Shift Focus to Customers in 2021
• How a Fintech Startup is Starting to Change the Financial Services Industry
• Gen Z is defining digital banking. FinTech is listening

Cybersecurity

• Top 2021 banking and fintech security regulations
• Phishing emails tempting people with fake coronavirus vaccines
• Understanding Malware: 10 Common Types You Should Know About
• Cutting-edge banking tech could create a world of super savvy savers
• The Most Common Hacking Techniques of 2021

Artificial Intelligence

• AI in Digital Marketing: Separating the Facts From the Fiction
• EU report warns that AI makes autonomous vehicles ‘highly vulnerable’ to attack
• The Next Generation Of Artificial Intelligence

Data Detox: Smartphones - Firefox

We use our phones for everything from reading news to texting friends to ordering in to playing games. All that convenience at our fingertips comes at a cost: our personal data and mental health. It’s hard to be present in the moment when push notifications and texts are enticing us to look down. Meanwhile, the amount of personal data we share, many times without even realizing, can be alarming.

But not all hope is lost! Here are five simple steps you can take to protect your data and add space between you and your phone when you need it.

“Must Reads” for 5 March

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• The necessity for better data security in 2021
• Banking the Unbanked — Investing in Mobility Capital Finance
• Crypto exchange Coinbase files paperwork to go public
• ‘Screen scraping is not evil’: Bankers, fintechs, aggregators face off
• Two banks explain how they’re using biometrics
• Bitcoin could become the “currency of choice for international trade”, says Citi

“Must Reads” for 4 March

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• Companies are using AI to hit business goals, even though they can't explain how it works
• How are Neobanks Aaccelerating the future of FinTech?
• AI facts every Dev should know: Artificial intelligence is older than you, probably
• Malware Analysis- The art of understanding malware
• SMEs need to strike balance between cybersecurity & business
• AI in Cybersecurity: Six considerations for 2021
• Ten Technologies To watch In 2021

“Must Reads” for 3 March

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• How mirroring the architecture of the human brain Is speeding up AI learning
• Key priorities for fintech in 2021
• Cybersecurity pros: Automation and app security are top priorities in 2021
• Africa’s mobile banking will be redefined by social media
• What is a cyber attack? Recent examples show disturbing trends
• Who wins the UX arms race: Traditional banks or neobanks?
• Three reasons Africa’s fintech market is thriving

“Must Reads” for 2 March

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• The Evolution of Planet Fintech
• The Move toward digital banking & transitioning traditionalists
• Types of Malware - Best Malware Protection Practices for 2021
• People file lawsuits to test boundaries of California's privacy law
• The disruptive trends & companies transforming digital banking services in 2021
• How IoT will change everyday life by 2030?
• Digitalisation, COVID-19 and the future of banking

“Must Reads” for 1 March

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• North America and Europe will total 179 million IoT smart homes by 2024
• 2021 Cybersecurity Trends: The emergence of the personalised attack chain
• Gen Z is defining digital banking. FinTech is listening
• BofA’s goal for digital banking: No customer left behind
• THE GDPR nearly three years on, 5 things you need to know - Security Boulevard
• EU report warns that AI makes autonomous vehicles ‘highly vulnerable’ to attack

What is a cyber attack?

From virtual bank heists to semi-open attacks from nation-states, the last couple of years has been rough on IT security. 

A cyber attack is an attack launched from one or more computers against another computer, multiple computers or networks. Cyber attacks can be broken down into two broad types: attacks where the goal is to disable the target computer or knock it offline, or attacks where the goal is to get access to the target computer's data and perhaps gain admin privileges on it.

Josh Fruhlinger posting on CSO fills us in on cyber attacks using some of the major recent cyber attacks and analyses what we can learn from them.

Read his article - What is a cyber attack? Recent examples show disturbing trends

 

“Must Reads” for 26 February

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• Lack of Digital Maturity Threatens Survival of Banking Organizations Worldwide
• 5 Steps to Financial Services App Modernization
• Two banks explain how they’re using biometrics
• Will FinTech bring revolution in the Financial Services Industry?
• Millions of jobs probably aren’t coming back, even after the pandemic ends
• Building a Global Financial Cloud with Banking Partners

“Must Reads” for 25 February

Today’s “Must reads” in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT and risk management include:

• Trends in Fintech Collaboration: Start With The User Experience
• What We’ve Learned About Digital Banking in 2020
• YouTube AI Blocked Chess Channel after Confusing 'Black' and 'White' for Racist Slurs
• Fintech companies must balance the pursuit of profit against ethical data usage
• Fintech Amid COVID-19