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Lords peers into online security
Financial services behemoths give evidence...

By Tom Espiner

Published: Friday 15 December 2006

A House of Lords committee investigating internet security has heard evidence from leading financial services organisations.

On Wednesday, witnesses from the UK payments association (APACS), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Visa gave evidence about the level of online threat to consumers, the types of fraud being perpetrated, and how financial services organisations are working with international law-enforcement groups.

UK banks make every effort to combat data theft, but to a certain extent their hands are tied as it is the customer who is often targeted in data-theft attacks, said APACS' spokeswoman Sandra Quinn, who also gave evidence at the investigation.

"People accept a level of risk just by shopping online - but just because they're worried about [online banking fraud] doesn't mean they are doing anything about it," said Quinn. "The banking industry is very reliant on how customers behave, and it is customers who are giving away their details to the fraudsters. We try to help prevent that."

The House of Lords launched its enquiry in July. The investigation is headed by the committee chairman, Lord Broers, and claims to be the first in-depth parliamentary study of the issue.

APACS claims to have effective mechanisms to share information internationally around issues such as phishing. Hackers have often used compromised or proxy servers in countries such as China to launch phishing attacks.

The House of Lords investigation will run until the late spring or summer of 2007, when a report of the committee's findings will be issued.

Tom Espiner writes for ZDNet UK.