Ides of March: Ransomware Updates, and Welcome to “Fintech”

Fintech: Introduction

Without a doubt, as we welcome fintech, we find ourselves fully immersed in an era of constant evolution. From the escalating sea levels to the tumultuous political landscape, and the ever-evolving wired networks that reshape economies and business models, change occurs at an astonishing pace, scarcely leaving time for comprehensive reporting.

Fintech: Ransomware Attack

In recent times, we have concluded a comprehensive two-part examination of fortifying your company’s system and data against the perils of “Ransomware.” This malicious software illicitly seizes and restrains valuable assets until a ransom, often in the form of digital “Bitcoin,” is surrendered, presenting a formidable challenge in terms of traceability.

Since then, a new Ransomware attack has emerged. One simply involving ads on major websites. As The Guardian reports: “major news websites have seen adverts hijacked by a malicious campaign that attempts to install ‘ransomware’ on users computers.

Over the weekend, a targeted attack aimed at US users impacted prominent websites such as the New York Times, the BBC, AOL, and the NFL. Combined, the targeted sites have traffic in the billions of visitors…When the infected adverts hit users, they redirect the page to servers hosting the malware, which includes the widely-used (amongst cybercriminals) Angler exploit kit. That kit then attempts to find any back door it can into the target’s computer, where it will install cryptolocker-style software, which encrypts the user’s hard drive and demands payment in bitcoin for the keys to unlock it.”

Protecting Your Firm

More to the point, as we’ve said before, any web-browsing should be kept completely separate — different networks, different devices — from any POS hardware.  Far be it from us to suggest what a company’ employee internet policies should be; you just don’t want fantasy league surfing, for example, to take place on the same machines that house customer financial data.

The Evolution of Fintech

As for those customers, what they expect, both from financial institutions that handle their money– like banks — and retailers and businesses where they spend their money — like yours — is constantly evolving.

“Data safety” would be near the top of that list. But we also want to introduce a term we haven’t mentioned much before: “Fintech.”

That means all the changing payment methods whose course we’ve been charting for you. It also means the way your customers interact with their “money.” Banks are taking note, because less and less, “Fintech” requires the presence of physical banks (much as Uber no longer requires a physical “dispatcher” to get cars to you).

The Role of MX

MX is a company that designs “Fintech” for banks, credit unions, and similar institutions. They’ve recently released a study about changing customer expectations, and trendlines, in the wake of the increasing availability of financial tech, and its rapid evolution.

Barring any further updates about Ransomware, “Drown attacks,” or any other vulnerabilities in the tech system we currently have, we’ll be picking up that discussion next week — as spring break and Easter draw near.

See you then.