First Data Corp. said it would refer its 800 bank and credit union clients to IronKey Inc. for software to protect users from fraud when banking online.
The endorsement from one of the industry's largest vendors could significantly widen the audience for IronKey's product at a time when banks are under orders from regulators to beef up security for online banking.
IronKey's Trusted Access guards against keyloggers and other attacks by creating a secure browsing environment. Even if a computer is infected with malware, "the online banking session should remain safe, secure and private," IronKey, of Sunnyvale, Calif., said in a news release Monday.
IronKey's technology will allow First Data's clients "to further differentiate their product offerings and capture new business," Cindi Lieblich, First Data's vice president of product development, said in the release. The product could also help banks meet recently updated guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which requires banks to add layered security to protect online banking sessions.
First Data is a unit of the Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. private-equity firm.
