Cyber thieves hate secure eBanking devices! They make their life way more difficult for the simple reason that without your secure eBanking device, a hacker cannot take money from your online banking accounts with just your stolen login information.
There is a catch though. To do online banking you need the device with you, a smart bankcard and reader or a secure USB token for example. 
If you are not convinced you should use such a device, however, consider this.
Do you know what Interpol, the Pentagon, the U.S. National Security Agency and the FBI all have in common? Other than being among the world’s most secure government organizations, they were all hacked by the same 18-year-old man.
And what do Sony, Northrop Grumman and Citibank all have in common? Besides the fact that they are all giant companies, they were all victims of high-profile hacking attacks in recent months.
If cyber criminals or kids can penetrate these organizations seemingly at will, how safe is your PC, especially when you are accessing your bank account online?
Right. Not very.
Still not convinced you should use secure eBanking devices? If your hesitation is that you think online banking fraud is not a widespread problem, you are mistaken. According to reports in Bloomberg, online fraud losses in the United States alone exceed $1 billion. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) published reports showing that 25% of all PCs in the world have financial malware or a Trojan or downloader installed on them designed to capture online banking credentials or hijack online sessions and steal money from online bank accounts.
How do secure devices for eBanking change this picture?
For one thing, they work. In the UK for example, where many people use secure devices for eBanking, the National Fraud Authority estimates online fraud losses at £60 million, a far lower level than in the United States.
Federal agencies in the United State seem to agree. This summer regulators have issued much stronger guidelines for online banking authentication that go into effect in January of 2012. The new guidelines require stronger authentication and layered security.
So the reasons to use a secure eBanking device are clear. PCs are easy to compromise, the fraud problem is serious and widespread, secure eBanking devices reduce fraud and regulators at least in the United States are recommending it.
If you are serious about online banking safety, you need to take action to better protect yourself and use a secure eBanking device. Look for online banking services that offer an external eBanking security device such as two factor authentication or Sign-What-You-See solutions that let you approve every large transaction with a unique signature, preventing even man-in-browser attacks.
After reading that, what do you think? Are you ready to use an additional device to secure your home banking?
