FST Europe

FST News in Brief - Madoff Suicide, Apple

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:18:00 +0000

Mark Madoff suicide

Mark Madoff, the eldest son of disgraced financer Bernard, was found hanged in his Manhattan apartment in December.

This latest casualty is another in the saga that sent Bernard Madoff to prison and swindled thousands of their life savings. The suicide took place on Saturday December 11- the second anniversary of his fathers arrest for the worst investment fraud in American history. Mark Madoff, 46, was found dead in the living room of his Soho loft. He was hanging from a black dog leash while his 2-year-old son slept nearby.

Those closest to Mark Madoff said he was despondent over press coverage of his father's case, an ongoing criminal investigation of Madoff family members in the multibillion-dollar scheme and his struggle to rebuild his life.

The convicted Ponzi-schemer Bernard will not attend the funeral of his son out of consideration for his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, attorney Ira Sorkin said. Bernard, 71, is at the Butner Federal Correction Complex, a medium security prison in eastern North Carolina, where he is serving a 150-year prison sentence.

Madoff fooled investors out of their money by masquerading as the head of a legitimate investment firm while using funds from new investors to send payments to his earlier investors, falsely portraying them as proceeds when they were actually stolen money, prosecutors said.

Madoff's criminal activities began a tidal wave of civil actions against Mark Madoff, his mother, siblings and hundreds of other defendants, accused of profiting off the Ponzi scheme by withdrawing more money from Madoff's fund than they invested, money they presumably thought was investment income.

Head to head

Apple is still the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer, as it had been for over a year, but there are signs that the iPhone is approaching saturation in the developer community. In a Millenial survey, Android was the No. 1 platform developers plan to support in 2011, with Microsoft's Window Phone 7 and the iPad tied for second. The iPhone was relegated to fourth place, after the Blackberry.

The extraordinary growth of Google's Android phones can be traced in six months of smartphone advertising data from Millenial Media, the largest independent mobile ad network,

Through a series of pie charts, they show Android overtaking Research in Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry between June and July in ad impressions, gaining rapidly on Apple's iPhone between July and September and finally coming even with Ios in October with a 37 percent share apiece.

However, Millenial's November report shows that Android and iOS tied for the second month in a row, at 38 percent each. After six months of gains, there is now something that looks like equilibrium.

Apple puts sharp focus on camera development

Apple have released a flurry of imaging related patents showcasing the effort it's putting in to improve the camera on the iPhone.

The development came out on top of the iPhone's High Dynamic Range feature that Steve Jobs demoed last September. They indicate, as Patently Apple's Jack Purcher put its, "the importance that Apple is facing on cameras within the context of the greater iOS device revolution."

Purchers highlights three of the patens: One for correcting blurry photos, another for masking skin tones and a third for reducing radically-based chroma noise.

Google is most searched

Apple's iPad lost by a hair to number one Chatrouletee in Google's list of the fastest rising search terms for 2010.

Twitter was number eight and Facebook number ten. Android did not make the list.

In the consumer electronics category, the iPad was number one and the iPhone 4 number two. Android didn't make this list either, but an Android phone- the HTC Evo 4G- did.

Nicoll Curtin Technology Expands Commercial Division

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:12:00 +0000

IT recruitment specialist Nicoll Curtin Technology is expanding its commercial division, the first of a series of planned initiatives to grow its business in 2011 following on from a successful 2010.

The company has hired Gavin Tew as Commercial Division Manager, together with two consultants, to boost the already established division and is planning further experienced hires across the year.

Nicoll Curtin Technology recruits contract and permanent IT experts on a contingency basis for the banking and financial, commercial and public sectors. Lawrence Hargreaves, Managing Director of Nicoll Curtin Technology said: ‘We believe that there is a huge potential to develop our commercial portfolio significantly, we have added a wealth of experience to the division to take full advantage of that opportunity'.

Gavin Tew joins Nicoll Curtin Technology from Venn Group, where he established and headed up their commercial sector team. Gavin commented: ‘I'm joining Nicoll Curtin Technology at a really exciting time. It has just been listed in the Fast Track 100 and has ambitious plans for growth over the next few years. I'm really looking forward to making a positive contribution to help us achieve our goals.'

Nicoll Curtin Technology is part of Nicoll Curtin Limited, which also comprises of Kavanagh Brown Executive Search. For more information about Nicoll Curtin Technology please visit www.nicollcurtin.co.uk or call 0207 397 0110.

Executive Head-to-Head: Strategic risk management | Data Management Strategy – a requirement for longevity in today's | Issue 6 - Data Management

PayPal Scammers Targeted by US Authorities

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:46:00 +0000

According to several sources, US officials have raided a house in Minnesota of two exchange students suspected of card-based fraud, along with conning millions of dollars from retailers on sites like eBay and PayPal. The students are supposedly part of a Vietnam-based crime ring.

According to an affidavit filed supporting a search warrant request, Winona State University students Tram Vo and Khoi Van are suspected of participation in the scam that has hit Amazon, Apple and Rosetta Stone among others.

Both Tram Vo and Khoi Van are thought to have set up over 180 eBay, and over 360 PayPal accounts using stolen identities, which they would utilize to sell stolen goods like video games and iTunes gift cards. The pair are suspected to have raised $1.2 million through their endeavours.

Including those affected were online merchants including PayPal, Amazon, Apple, Dell, Verizon Wireless and translation software firm Rosetta Stone.

The accusations are part of a larger investigation, Operation eMule, by the DHS into cybercrime scams masterminded from Vietnam. The operation began in September 2009 to investigate online commerce and express mail courier operations, according to the Minnesota's Star Tribune. Investigators estimate that the rings contribute "hundreds of millions of dollars" to an underground economy in Vietnam, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit, filed by Daniel Schwarz, an agent with Homeland Security Investigations in Minnesota, also said in his affidavit that the rings involve an "elaborate network" of specialists, including computer hackers, vendors of stolen identities and financial information, fraud managers and facilitators, money mules and shippers.

Click here to check out other GDS International scam articles.

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Electronic Payments Overtaking Cheques in US

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:13:00 +0000

A new study by the Federal Reserve has revealed that Americans are using electronic payment methods like credit cards far more often than cheques.

In the three-year period from 2006 - 2009, noncash payments in the US increased 4.6 percent per year. Among the noncash payments, 20 billion more e-payments were made in 2009 as opposed to 2006, a 9.3 percent annual increase.

The most dominant form of e-payment is debit card, which represents approximately 35 percent of total noncash transactions. The annual use of debit cards increased by over 12.8 billion payments, the largest increase by any type during the survey period, reaching 37.9 billion in 2009, a 14.8 percent annual growth rate. In comparison, the number of cheques used fell by six billion, or 7.2 percent, over the same period, while the number written fell by about 5.7 billion, an average of 6.1 percent per year.

Not only does this study show the continued move from cheques to electronic means of making payments, but we also see the extraordinary progress the industry has made in electronifying the clearing process for the 27.5 billion checks still being written," said Richard Oliver, EVP, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

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Hackers Crash Mastercard Site, Claim Cyberwar

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:12:00 +0000

WikiLeaks has hailed a ‘cyberwar' after hackers have illegally brought down Mastercard's official website mastercard.com, after the credit card company stopped donations going to the whistle-blowing website.

The hackers, dubbing themselves Anonymous, launched ‘Operation: Payback' following Mastercard's halting of donations by overloading the Mastercard website, making it unavailable at around lunchtime (and still unavailable at the time of writing).

A message on Twitter from @Anon_Operation, read: 'WE ARE GLAD TO TELL YOU THAT http://www.mastercard.com/ is DOWN AND IT'S CONFIRMED! '#ddos #wikileaks Operation:Payback(is a b****!) #PAYBACK'

Another, from AnonyWatcher, added - in a play on MasterCard's advertising: 'There are some things Wikileaks can't do. For everything else, there's Operation Payback.'

WikiLeaks Europe - also on Twitter - declared it was 'cyberwar'. The organisation said: 'Group That Took Down Swiss Bank Site Have Now Taken Down Mastercard.com.'

Mastercard said Monday that it was blocking payments because WikiLeaks was engaging in illegal activity, and soon after Visa followed suit as did other US organisations embarrassed by the site continues to embarrass the US political elite by publishing leaked diplomatic cables.

In a statement today, Mastercard confirmed it is "experiencing heavy traffic on its external corporate website" but claims it "remains accessible" and that "there is no impact whatsoever on our cardholders' ability to use their card for secure transactions."

The boycott has angered DataCell, the Iceland-based firm that enables Wikileaks to accept card payments. In a statement, DataCell CEO Andreas Fink confirmed that DataCell has "decided to take up immediate legal actions to make donations possible again."

Fink goes on: "The suspension of payments towards Wikileaks is a violation of the agreements with their customers. Visa users have explicitly expressed their will to send their donations to Wikileaks and Visa is not fulfilling this wish. It will probably hurt their brand much much more to block payments towards Wikileaks than to have them occur. Visa customers are contacting us in masses to confirm that they really donate and they are not happy about Visa rejecting them. It is obvious that Visa is under political pressure to close us down."

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Online Sales to Hit Half Billion Pounds, Yet Fraud Down

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:43:00 +0000

New research from Deutsche Bank suggests the Monday 6 December will be the busiest day for online spending, yet fraud numbers have declined slightly on previous years.

According to research from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), ‘Mega Monday' will pip ‘Super Sunday' with up to half a billion pounds spent online over the two days.

A poll from CyberMonday.co.uk and YouGov, suggests that 45 percent of online UK adults plan to shop online between 29 November and 6 December, with 27 percent to spend over £200 on Christmas gifts. A separate study from eDigitalResearch shows that 27% of Brits intend to do more online shopping this Christmas than last year.

David Smith, managing director, IMRG, says: "We estimate that £6.4 billion will be spent in December alone, with total online sales for November and December set to reach £12.4 billion. Consumers have looked to spread the costs of Christmas a bit more this year due to the economic climate, but December 6th is the day that our retailers expect sales activity to be at its highest."

Deutsche Bank confirmed that fraud on credit cards was down, in part due to fewer chargebacks after a cardholder complaint were caused by fraud attempts. The share of chargebacks on the grounds that the purchase was not authorised by the cardholder or that the card was not presented fell by seven percentage points.

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JPMorgan Staff to Trial iPad

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:01:00 +0000

According to Bloomberg, JP Morgan is to issue its investment banking staff with iPad tablets as part of a six-month trial.

"We believe there are real benefits in our working environment that can be realised using this device - as well as the personal productivity and enjoyment that come as part of the package," two managing directors at New York-based JPMorgan said in an e-mail obtained by Bloomberg News.

Depending on its success we will evaluate if we should repeat this one time initiative and/or expand it to others," they are quoted as saying.

JPMorgan outlined that the trial will allow associates to access e-mails, contacts, calendar and attachments via the iPad, as well as have the ability to mark-up and annotate confidential documents and make client presentations, says Bloomberg.

"There are a variety of ways to leverage the iPad. Some work off-the-shelf whilst others rely on JPMorgan software/security tools," the managing directors wrote in the e-mail. "Depending on its success we will evaluate if we should repeat this one time initiative and/or expand it to others.

Shift away from RIM

With JPMorgan staff utilizing the iPad, competitors like Research in Motion (RIM) will have its work cut out to reconnect with financial institutions - RIM specifically have been the mobile of choice for Wall Street financiers, according to Finextra. In response, RIM has announced its plans to launch a tablet computer in Q1 of 2011. But it may be too late, as big ticket banks - including JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse - roll out client applications for the iPad.

The shake-up of the corporate smartphone market was demonstrated last month when it emerged that Bank of America and Citi are the latest financial services giants to consider letting their staff use iPhones and Google Android-based handsets as an alternative to BlackBerrys for corporate e-mail, following in the footsteps of JP Morgan Chase and Standard Chartered.

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PayPal to Introduce Online Purchasing on TV?

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:41:00 +0000

PayPal is working with a US cable TV consortium to develop a new 'T-commerce' initiative in which consumers can pay for goods and services on their television.

The prototype service is being created at Canoe Ventures Innovation Lab, according to reports it is a 'test bed' environment created by the cable collective. Canoe's members include Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable.

The consortium has invited Catalina Marketing, Delivery Agent, FourthWall Media, icueTV, and PayPal to address the use of RFI and T-commerce in interactive television.

Osama Bedier, vice president of platform, mobile and new ventures at PayPal explains the concept on the company blog:

"Today, I'm happy to say we're one step closer to equipping every living room in America with T-commerce powered by PayPal. We're working with Canoe Ventures, which was founded by the country's leading cable operators to create interactive products and services, to make this a reality. Other major players that have joined us include Catalina Marketing, Delivery Agent, FourthWall Media and icueTV. Canoe's "test bed" is Canoe Ventures Innovation Lab, where work is already underway.

"Together, we are pushing forward the very future of television as an interactive shopping experience that harnesses the ease and safety of PayPal. Imagine this: lounging on your couch and channel surfing, then finding that perfect birthday present. A few clicks of your remote, and you've purchased the gift via your PayPal account. Pretty cool, right?!

"We at PayPal believe that the wallet should live and will live "in the cloud." Internet-connected devices will be the very fabric of the digital lifestyle. And as televisions increasingly become Internet enabled, they open up whole new avenues for new ways to connect and sell to consumers directly. We are proud to support our developers as they push forward with this vision."

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Google Android to Replace Credit Cards?

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:17:00 +0000

Google's next Android-powered smartphone could eventually replace credit cards according to the search engine giant's CEO Eric Schmidt.

The phone in question was revealed at this year's Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, and will contain a Near Field Communication chip that enables mobile payments.

Although the manufacturers label was covered during the display, the phone is thought to be a Nexus device.

Gingerbread, the latest version of Android, due to land in shops within a month, will power this new handset according to Schmidt, and will feature this new mobile payments system as a key too.

"This could replace your credit card," Schmidt said. "The reason this NFC chip is so interesting is because the credit card industry thinks the loss rate is going to be much better, they're just more secure."

For users to use the new device as a credit card, they will require both a phone with an NFC chip and Android's Gingerbread operating system. To complete a transaction, users will need to tap their phones on a symbol or a designated item within the retailer which will make an action - like a payment - happen. Or "tap and pay" according to Schmidt.

Schmidt also outlined that Google has no affiliation with particular retailers and that it would partner with third-party payment processors. He also said that Google would not retain any personal data obtained through credit card transactions via the phone.

Google's Android operating system now has a market share of 25.5 percent worldwide, up from 3.5 percent in the same period a year ago, according to the latest figures from Gartner.

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Security Focus Will Be Key to the Banking Future

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:12:00 +0000

US Stocks reported good growth this week after the tech giant Fortinet approached network security company International Business Machines Corp about a possible takeover. Shares for fellow network security company Sourcefire Inc. also bolstered stock trading on Wall Street. Both mergers indicate that the banking community is keen to seek security for a safer consumer future.

With advancements in technology, public awareness and ease of use, mobile, voice and web-based banking has now become a preferred mode of business rather than previous methods like over-the-counter and postal transactions. A Financial Committee feel security focus will be key to the banking future; they will meet at the FST US Summit at the start of the financial year.

2010 has not only brought high unemployment and slow economic growth but also a large increase in fraud. Today's cyber criminals have adopted more sophisticated methods to commit fraud and are exploiting financial vulnerabilities in the global payments system, often without detection. This is an enormous red flag for banks, as a successful attack on customers' accounts can hinder business, trust and reputation. Therefore it is imperative for banks and financial institutions to implement superior security management programs in order to decrease both external and internal risks and minimize vulnerability of their systems.

The United States has had a continuing reliance on credit and debit cards that store unencrypted information on a magnetic stripe, which has made them a prime target for hackers and cyber criminals.

Representatives from Citigroup - Raymond Lipps, SVP Group Information Security Officer, ING Group - Alan Boehme, SVP and Head of IT Strategy and Enterprise Architecture, Bank of America - Brad Mattocks, SVP Global Technology Strategy & Architecture, Nasdaq OMX Group - Mats Andersson, CTO and Guardian Life Insurance - Frank Wander, SVP and CIO were quoted: "Most of the developed world, including China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Canada is switching to bank cards that have embedded smart chips with account data in an encrypted form."

The end goal of all IT projects should be in the customer's best interest. From comprehensive document management, integrating customer data and enacting security policies and measures that assure data protection and privacy, the CIO's role in customer acquisition and retention is crucial.

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Barclays, PayPal Announce Britain M-Payment Milestones

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:59:00 +0000

Both Barclays and PayPal have achieved a million transactions for contactless transactions and m-payments respectively.

According to PayPal, a million Britons have used its m-payments to make a payment or send money using their mobile phones.

Although the number is still dwarfed substantially by payments made by non-mobile payments - which amounts to over $1.5 billion - the landmark number does highlight the advances in m-payments and users attitude towards it.

PayPal highlighted in released statistics that it expects to reach $700 million in mobile payments by the end of 2010; 30 times the global volume of 2008.

The results are not altogether shocking: PayPal has been a pioneer since it began m-payments back in 2005; plus PayPal was the one of the first companies to launch an app on iPhone when Apple opened its platform to developers.

Petra Jung, head, mobile, PayPal in the UK, says: "We're seeing the start of a revolution in the way we pay. People have talked about 'mobile money' for some time, but our figures show real traction in the amount of money PayPal's UK customers are sending from their mobile phones."

Barclays announce contactless payments total a million

Like PayPal, Barclays are celebrating a milestone with contactless payments totalling a million, a rise of 217 percent in monthly payments.

The rise has attracted both Virgin Money and Bank of America's card unit MBNA, who have committed to rolling out cards to millions of UK customers.

"The latest statistics on contactless payment show we are reaching a tipping point. The number of terminals has gone from 25,000 at the beginning of 2010, to 42,500 today, and this is before the big grocers like Co-operative begin their roll out in earnest. At a time when every penny counts for retailers, contactless helps boost customer satisfaction and reduce queue abandonment," said Stuart Neal, head, payment acceptance, Barclaycard.

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PayPal Joins Micropayments System with Facebook, FT

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:57:00 +0100

PayPal has partnered with Facebook and unveiled a new micropayments system for digital goods and services. PayPal unleashed the system at the firm's annual X Innovate conference.

The new system, that launches next year, will allow a two-click purchase of digital goods like games, music or video content from websites, including FarmCash within Zynga on the Facebook platform.

According to Finextra.com, Facebook has agreed to integrate the technology in its site and is joined by Autosport.com, FT.com, GigaOM, Justin.tv, Ooyala, Plimus, Tagged, Tyler Projects and Ustream.

"Our readers want their news on demand, whether they're on a laptop, a mobile phone or a tablet. PayPal helps us provide the experience our customers expect, along with flexibility to experiment with payment mechanisms for subscriptions. This gives our customers the flexibility to pay for what they want, when they want," Mary Beth Christie, head, product management, FT.com said.

Perhaps the whole importance of the micropayments system is to quicken the payment process; slow transactions have been responsible for users paying online to abandon purchases.

PayPal's vice president of global product strategy reiterated this strategy, saying in a statement that as users generally make a purchase on impulse, the system should reflect this with speed.

According to iblogauto.com, "Google was so enamoured of Facebook's success with Credits that it acquired virtual currency startup Jambool to flesh out itsGoogle Me social software strategy.

This healthy rivalry means reliable payment platforms such as PayPal are infine position to build secure software for companies looking to sell virtual goods. PayPal is also expected to provide paying punch to Google's Android Market soon," the blog said.

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Bats Launches Second Equities Exchange

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:44:00 +0100

On Oct. 15, BATS Global Markets will launch BATS Y-Exchange (BYX), with plans to offer a unique pricing structure to US equities customers. BATS Global Markets is the holding company for BATS Exchange and BATS Europe.

"As we near our second anniversary in Europe, we're extremely pleased to see continued growth in so many of the markets in which we operate. Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordics and Switzerland, in particular, are all areas where our market share is outpacing our expectations," said Joe Ratterman, CEO of BATS Global Markets and BATS Exchange.

"In the US, we're certainly looking forward to the launch of BYX as we believe this market will attract liquidity removers looking for aggressive pricing," he said.
"As for our existing US exchange, BZX, we are proud to achieve 10% market share in an environment that is increasingly difficult for lit venues such as ours. As internalization continues to increase we are gratified to see our market share remain stable and, in fact, improve, in relation to the major exchanges with whom we compete," he said.

Mr. Ratterman added that BATS Options, which reported significant improvement during the month, continues to expect about 3% market share by year end.

Among global equities market operators in August in terms of value of shares traded, BATS Exchange remained in third place after NYSE and NASDAQ and well ahead of all other US exchanges, as well as those in Tokyo, China, Paris, Germany and London. September data is not yet available.

About BATS

BATS Global Markets (BATS) is an innovative global financial markets technology company headquartered in the Kansas City, Mo., area with additional offices in New York and London. The BATS platform was launched in January 2006 and, operating as BATS Exchange, Inc., is a premier destination among the top ranked equity markets in the United States. BATS serves the European market through its London based, FSA-authorised subsidiary, BATS Europe, which operates a Multilateral Trading Facility for European securities. Most recently, BATS launched a US equity options market, BATS Options, and expects to launch a second US equities exchange, BYX, in 2010. The BATS platform is internally developed by a dedicated core team of market and technology professionals, catering to the needs of the broker-dealer and trading community. BATS ... Making Markets Better.

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Card fraud in UK down 20% from 2009

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:35:00 +0100

UK card fraud fell to its lowest for the last decade, according to the UK Cards Association. Online banking also saw a sharp drop, the first since 2007.

In the report, total fraud losses on UK cards was £186.8 million in the first half, down 20 percent on the same period in 2009 and the lowest figure for a decade.

Fraud committed in the UK was down 18% to 135.2 million and the losses accrued abroad also fell, by 23%, to £51.5 million.

According to Finextra, Card-not-present fraud fell 12% to 118.2 million while counterfeit losses were down 39% to £28.2 million. Fraud on lost or stolen cards was £21.3 million, down 15% and card ID theft dropped 37% to £15 million. The only type to see a rise during the period was mail non-receipt card fraud, up nine per cent to £3.8 million.

Melanie Johnson, Chair of The UK Cards Association, which represents UK credit and debit card providers said:

"The cards industry sees fighting fraud as a key part of keeping its customers' interests centre-stage. We are committed to a wide range of measures to ensure customers feel confident, safe and secure when they use their credit and debit cards - whether in a shop, abroad, online, at a cash machine or anywhere else.

"And a fall in card fraud is good news for everyone - UK consumers, retailers and the industry. We recognise that cards will always be targeted by criminals, so we are determined not only to continue to prevent, detect and deter those who are behind this type of crime, but also to make sure that innocent victims don't lose out."

The association, which counts all the country's major card issuers and acquiring banks, said the drop was due to the increasing use of sophisticated fraud detection tools by banks and retailers; and the work of the DCPCU, the banking-sponsored special police unit, who have all helped contribute to this fall. It is the first time that card fraud has decreased since 2006.

Other factors include greater sign-up to MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa, increased use of fraud detection tools by banks and retailers and the growing roll-out of chip and PIN abroad.

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Ukrainian police arrest key players within Zeus Trojan

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:41:00 +0100

In an operation named ‘Trident Breach', Ukrainian police have arrested five people in conjunction with the scam to siphon money from small businesses in the US.

Zeus Trojan, the e-banking fraud ring was responsible for extracting £45 million from victims' bank accounts over the space of the past few years. The malware, which captured passwords, account numbers, and other data used to log into online banking accounts, says the FBI.

Ukrainian police, the SBU, and the FBI believe they have arrested a "top-tier group" responsible for organizing the fraud on a wide-spread operation. The arrests come off the back of further work by police in the Netherlands and the UK's Metropolitan Police Service. Those detained are "key subjects responsible for this overarching scheme," the FBI said in a statement.

"We believe we've dismantled the operation" with the recent arrests, said Gordon Snow, assistant director with the FBI's Cyber Division.

The Ukraine arrests are "far more significant" than the earlier actions in the UK and the US, said Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "These are five ringleaders," he said. "All roads lead back to these five guys. The people that were arrested in the UK and the people that were arrested in the US... all were piling their money back to these guys in Ukraine."

FBI Director, Robert Mueller, says: "No one country, no one company, and no one agency can stop cybercrime. The only way to do that is by standing together. For ultimately, we all face the same threat. Together, the FBI and its international partners can and will find better ways to safeguard our systems, minimise these attacks, and stop those who would do us harm."

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Odyssey acquired by Temenos for $81 million

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:29:00 +0100

Luxembourg based Odyssey Financial Technologies, which provides application software to the private banking and wealth management (PWM) market, has been purchased by Temenos in a deal worth $81 million.

As well as the purchase price of $81 million, Geneva bank Temenos will also settle Odyssey's existing debt obligations of $20.3 million.

Temenos said it will invest in building up the capabilities of Odyssey's Triple'A Plus and WealthManager products "to provide the strongest full front-to-back solution coverage in the Private Banking and Wealth Management (PWM) software market - both for mass affluent and for high net worth individuals."

According to Temenos' chief executive Andreas Andreades, the purchasing will mean the "business with the scale to out-sell and out-innovate competition and gain significant market share.

"The combination of Temenos' Private Banking business and Odyssey creates a powerhouse in PWM application software - a business with the scale to out-sell and out-innovate competition and gain significant market share. The combination brings together the best-selling core banking platform with the best-selling front office applications, offering both sets of customers as well as new prospects an integrated yet best-of-breed back-to-front offering, which we believe will be a highly compelling proposition in the market," he said.

"Odyssey products will directly benefit from the scale and geographical breadth of Temenos' R&D and Services organization,'' said Antoine Duchateau, founder and executive chairman of Odyssey.

Together, Temenos and Odyssey project to generate $130 million in annual revenue.

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The debate within cloud computing

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:17:00 +0100

The IT world is locked in an ongoing debate over the usefulness of Cloud Computing; those who believe it directly affects ROI, and those who waver in its importance and believe there is no sure way to keep data safe. To help fuel and resolve the debate, the European Financial industry is assembling in the Netherlands for the FST Summit Europe between the 21 - 24 September.

This committee of CIO's, CISO's, Heads of Architecture and Compliance have highlighted cloud computing as a major talking point and are specifically interested in the pitfalls as well as the benefits to determine if this is a viable solution for cost saving initiatives. With representation from major financial institutions like Credit Suisse, Rabobank International, UBS Allianz and Deutsche Bank the need to look at solutions that save on a tight IT budget can be used when providing effective security, data storage and infrastructures.

Markus Shulz, the Global Compliance Officer at Zurich Financial Services explained on Thursday that in a post-financial crises, regulation is expected to increase, specifically in a short term environment, but will likely have long-term effects. While there are many facets to the implications of an increasingly regulated financial environment, this concept does set the stage as to whether cloud computing would survive the obstacles of a strongly regulated industry.

Another consequence of Markus Shulz's regulated environment is that Senior Management are scrutinized more than other levels of leadership, and these are the budget holders and implementers of cost effective technologies solutions and infrastructures. These are the IT professionals that will be able to determine whether the cloud computing market has matured enough to handle the needs they face when providing kpi's to the C level directors.

From a security standpoint the cloud computing technologies need to prove that all aspects of its environment are safe from hackers and prying eyes. The major decisions facing successful implementation of cloud technologies is whether to use a solution providers cloud or bring the cloud inside and oversee the process internally. Vmware and McAfee were locking horns on this issue.

Vmware has taken the standpoint that a hybrid cloud that enables enterprises to hand the transfer of flow between internal data and private clouds and is the most viable option. On the other hand, McAfee is boasting of its ability to provide stronger imbedded security options for private cloud development based on its recent acquisition of Intel. The argument relies on IT departments running the cloud exclusively internally whilst understanding that most public clouds cannot provide the security and infrastructure required of a versatile enterprise.

While the end of this gathering will provide clarity as to the arguments associated with the numerous potential outcomes for implementation of cloud computing, the undeniable consensus is that cloud computing is going to be with us for a number of years. One thing that stands as a testament to the financial industry is that it is able to work in every industry and translate problems and obstacles into bridges toward success.

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Fraudster nets �300k, jailed for five years

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:17:00 +0100

Two men, who were previously arrested by Westminster Police's Chinese Unit, have been sentenced to four years and 15 months in prison respectively after accumulating hundreds of thousands of pounds using fake credit cards.

The two men, Gabriel Yew and Cheng Chee Weng were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and supplying articles for use in fraud.

Following a plain clothed capture and subsequent arrest of both men, Westminster Police's Chinese Unit launched an investigation into the 28-year-old Cheng Chee Weng and 39-year-old Gabriel Yew.

A property search yielded counterfeit equipment like thermal printers to produce cards, plastic cards and holograms, as well as over £10,000 in cash, gold ingots, and other jewellery valued at between £8,000 and £10,000.

The police discovered that Yew had been using the counterfeit cards to purchase luxurious goods such as iPhones, expensive whisky, jewellery and vintage stamps, the culmination of which was worth up to £300,000.

According to ThisIsMoney, a list of 700 stolen account numbers was also recovered, with 250 of them already encoded and 450 compromised. All money and assets confiscated will now be subject to confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Detective Inspector Dee Bain of the DCPCU today stated: 'This case has come to a successful conclusion after only six months of investigation. This is testament to the exemplary partnership work that went on between the specialist detectives in the DCPCU and the Westminster Police Chinese Unit.'

'During the past eight years, the DCPCU has prevented an estimated £340m of card and cheque fraud and has been integral to the reduction in overall card fraud losses, which fell by 28% last year.'

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Bonuses for FTSE execs back to pre-crisis levels

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:42:00 +0100

In a recent survey, business advisory firm Deloitte has confirmed that executive bonuses amongst top FTSE 100 companies have risen to pre-financial crisis levels.

The survey confirms that FTSE 100 companies' executive bonuses were, on average, at 100 percent. For the FTSE 100 top 30 companies, that percentage was even higher at around 140 percent.

Despite the increase in bonuses, Deloitte did warn that executive salaries would not increase.

"Last year we saw a very large number of companies freezing executive salaries, but at the time it was difficult to predict whether this was a one-off.
"Now it appears that the years of executive salaries increasing at rates far in excess of inflation and the increase in average earnings are, at least for the moment, well and truly over.

"Companies are now recognising that increases for executives must be considered fair and reasonable in the context of current business circumstances and the pay and conditions for employees more generally," Stephen Cahill of Deloitte said.

According to the BBC, London Mayor Boris Johnson backed comments by the leader of the RMT Union, Bob Crow, attacking bankers for accepting large bonuses.

"Those distinguished, intelligent, highly remunerated people have got to understand the political consequences of doing nothing about the huge bonuses they are about to receive," Mr Johnson said.

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Russian hacker receives suspended sentence for $9m heist

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:10:00 +0100

According to press reports, the Russian hacker who was responsible for stealing $9.4 million from RBS' WorldPay computer network has escaped imprisonment with a six-year suspended sentence.

Viktor Pleashuk, 29, pleaded guilty for his role in the heist, and received a six-year suspended sentence and four years probation after agreeing to cooperate with authorities regarding other hackers involved in the heist on RBS WorldPay Inc, the U.S. payment-processing division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, and cloning ATM cards, according to his lawyer, Yuriy Novolodsky.

Pleashuk was ordered to pay back $8.9 million (275 million rubles).

"This is not a regular crime but a cybercrime and Pleshchuk didn't really have a full understanding of the damage he was causing," Novolodsky said today in an interview in St. Petersburg. "He pleaded guilty and is fully collaborating with authorities."

The US Justice Department indicted Pleashuk and seven other accomplices employed "sophisticated hacking techniques" to compromise the data encryption that was used by RBS WorldPay to protect customer data on payroll debit cards.

2,100 ATMs in 280 cities worldwide were hacked in less than 12 hours, in "perhaps the most sophisticated and organized computer-fraud attack ever conducted."

"Computer hackers who steal from American financial networks must be held accountable for their crimes, whether they operate here or abroad," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "The Department of Justice, working hand in hand with our international law enforcement partners, is committed to vigorously prosecuting these crimes and to ensuring that these criminals are extradited and brought to justice."

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