Investment

The drumbeat of news about hackers stealing millions of dollars by gaming the Swift interbank messaging system should have been a wake-up call for banking executives, but it's unclear how many of them answered it. Is it too late for them to shore up their defenses?

The Federal Reserve detected more than 50 breaches of its computer systems from 2011 to 2015, Reuters reported, adding to signs that the central bank may be vulnerable to hackers or spies.

Given the news about the recent bank thefts carried out over the Swift messaging system, banks might be wondering if there is an alternative for cross-border payments. Flatly, there isn't.

A recent spate of breaches on Asian banks that allowed hackers access to the Swift network have resulted in finger pointing, and some calls for creating a new, more secure network. But the issues faced by Swift would likely be the same with any replacement network.

Credit bureau TransUnion is diversifying its online security services with a strategic partnership announced this week with Dashlane, provider of a fast-growing password-management platform.

U.S. banks, already troubled to put in place the alliances necessary to operate in Asia and other parts of the world, have even more to worry about in light of investigators' allegations that North Korea played a role in the cyber attacks on Swift partner banks throughout Southeast Asia as well as the Bangladesh account at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Consumers, especially millennials, increasingly prefer to do everything on their mobile devices, including signing up for services. But as banks start to open accounts for people whom their employees have never met, there are plenty of questions about whether they can tell real customers and crooks apart.

Consumers, banks and merchants all want faster payments, but new technology only seems to be making the process slower.

There is an old saying by Mark Twain, "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story, unless you can't think of anything better." Recently, Walmart filed a lawsuit against Visa complaining the company won't let it require PINs on transactions made with chip-enabled debit cards.

With banks worldwide feeling the heat of recent cyber attacks against Swift messaging participants, and the financial telecommunication cooperative's reputation taking an even bigger hit, Swift is making public a five-step plan to tighten security measures.