Bank technology

Storing sensitive material on the Internet makes it a target for hackers, but the password gaming that appears to have been behind the theft of celebrities' photos could happen to any server, on or off the cloud.

Home Depot Inc.'s investigation of a suspected hacker attack is renewing pressure on retailers and credit-card providers to strengthen payment-system security.

An internal review at Goodwill Industries has concluded that hackers accessed customer payments data through a vendor-related weak spot.

For Apple, the timing couldn't be worse to launch a mobile wallet.

The telco-driven Isis mobile wallet will now be called Softcard, a name chosen to avoid confusion and association with a militant group in the Middle East that is often referred to as "ISIS."

Hackers who stole gigabytes of data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. may have been trying to send a message that U.S. financial institutions can be disrupted, the former director of the National Security Agency said.

Home Depot Inc., the largest home- improvement chain, fell as much as 3.4 percent in New York trading after saying it was working with banks and law enforcement to investigate a possible data breach.

Home Depot is working with banks and law enforcement agencies to investigate a potential theft of its customers' credit and debit card information.

Although bankers are (hopefully) less likely to store compromising selfies in the cloud, the infiltration of celebrities' iCloud accounts illustrates the danger of saving anything with a consumer-oriented cloud service.

The company is opening high-tech loan production offices and using data analytics to match customers with products. But like other banks seeking to modernize, Seacoast is trying to balance short-term needs with costly long-term investments.

Kofax, a maker of imaging and business process management software, is acquiring Softpro, a provider of fraud prevention and electronic signature software based in Boeblingen, Germany, for $34.7 million in cash.

While customers were losing faith in banks, they were falling in love with tech. Banks will have to start changing their message if they're going to catch up, according to consultant Chiaki Nishino.

Fintech startup Stockpile lets banks sell stocks as virtual gift cards through their online banking portals.

Barclays Bank is planning to open a global technology support center in McKinney, Texas.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has turned to a technology expert for a little help.

A large cybertheft against JPMorgan Chase and other big New York banks is said to have started with a break-in on an employee's computer at home. It serves as a reminder that big problems can start in small places and that banks need to take more steps to minimize the damage from hacker attacks.

All banks, regardless of size, must invest more in technology despite shareholder pressure to cut costs, said Victor Nichols, a former CIO at Wells Fargo and current director at Bank of Hawaii.

Banks that misinterpret regulatory guidance on vendor risk management can wind up shortchanging themselves and stifling industry innovation, according to consultant Paul Schaus.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. bank, said it increased defenses against computer hackers after an attack against the industry this month.

Russian hackers attacked JPMorgan Chase and at least four other banks this month in a coordinated assault that resulted in the loss of gigabytes of customer data, according to two people familiar with the investigation.