Online banking: One third does not feel secure
As a study by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International shows, half of the German Internet users surveyed (50 %) think it is safer to conduct their banking transactions traditionally at the counter than to use online banking. Despite these concerns, most users (88 %) make their payments online. However, many do not pay attention to basic security measures when doing so and thus put their money at risk.
The easiest way for cybercriminals to gain access to an online bank account is to impersonate the account holder. They do this by gathering information about the account, for example, via a phishing page that looks deceptively like the bank, where users unwittingly enter their username and password. Cybercriminals also grab credentials using banking Trojans when users log on to their bank's official site. Both computers and mobile devices are vulnerable in this way.
The survey shows that more than a third of German users (36 %) feel vulnerable when making online transactions. Furthermore, 60 % of respondents think offline payments are more reliable than online banking and 50 % agree with the statement that offline banking is more secure.
Despite these concerns, the majority of Internet users make online payments: 71 % of respondents use their computer or laptop for online banking, 22 % use their tablet and 22 % use their smartphone for financial transactions. However, the study also shows that one in five users do not take special protective measures when it comes to passwords for sensitive accounts such as financial services and online payment platforms.
"When customers opt for traditional over-the-counter banking to protect themselves from Internet fraud, it makes it more difficult to adopt online and mobile payment systems. At the same time, there are ongoing security concerns among users of online and mobile payment systems, as they may be putting their money at unnecessary risk," says Holger Suhl, General Manager DACH at Kaspersky Lab. "It is therefore necessary for banks to invest in technologies that enable a secure online banking environment for their customers."
The Survey was commissioned by Kaspersky Lab and conducted by B2B International in 2014. A total of 11,135 users from 23 different countries worldwide were surveyed, including 2,821 from Europe and 405 from Germany.
