A new software developer kit from Authentium that allows banks to reach out and lock down clients' machines during online transactions could significantly reduce the potential for fraud. The new resource is called VirtualATM. Banks must investigate tools like this to boost the confidence of consumers that are becoming increasingly anxious about the potential for transaction-focused attacks.

Web-Based Banking Raises the Threat Level

Traditional ATMs represent something of a closed environment for banks. They control the hardware, the software that runs on it, as well as the underlying network. But increasing numbers of clients are shifting their transaction patterns from ATMs to online banking via their own computers. Beyond sheer convenience, PC-based banking allows clients to engage in more sophisticated transactions.