Bank technology

Ryan Singer, CEO and cofounder of startup Blockchain Health, discusses the problems with the traditional "shared secrets" method of verifying identities, and the possibilities opened up by mobile computing devices.

Though the use of a digital identity may take years to go mainstream with consumers, BBVA Compass is thinking about the role that banks should play and taking steps toward being part of the solution.

Banks have to know a lot about their customers, who generally trust them to keep personal information secure. Who better to serve as digital identity providers in a post-password world?

The way we verify people are who they say they are must evolve to reflect new technologies like peer-to-peer platforms and the Internet of Things and the ways millennials live and work.

Around the world, technology companies, governments and even some banks are coming up with new, safer and easier ways for people to prove they are who they say they are. Generally the goal is to allow people to be authenticated once by a trusted identity provider (a role banks could play) rather than share sensitive information with countless third parties, as they do today. Here we highlight just a few of the many organizations innovating in this space.

Hackers penetrated the computer network of a Verizon Communications subsidiary, but the company says it plugged the hole before much data was compromised.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

Asking for static information like a mother's maiden name seems increasingly passé, since shared "secrets" can be stolen or gleaned from the Internet. But without a brilliant alternative, and done with care, knowledge-based authentication still has value.

Hackers linked to the Iranian government launched a series of cyber-attacks on U.S. financial institutions including Bank of America Corp. and the New York Stock Exchange, federal prosecutors say.

Diebold has acquired enough Wincor Nixdorf shares to complete the purchase of its German rival, a deal that creates a maker of cash machines and systems with more than $5 billion in sales.