Data security

Account takeover's harder to quantify than payment fraud because it has so many elements and downstream impacts, writes Kevin Lee, trust and safety architect at Sift Science.

The widespread nature of the threat (most computer chips are vulnerable) and the reality that banks are always juicy targets mean bank officials must take a series of protective actions as soon as possible.

Overstock CEO and Wall Street gadfly Patrick Byrne wants to create a market free from trading practices he has long decried.

Twenty-two trade groups, including seven financial trade groups, sent a letter to House lawmakers calling for new data security standards that would preempt state law.

San Francisco-based Arxan Technologies, which got its start in 2001 providing security tools to protect gaming and medical-device applications, says financial services companies are one of the fastest-growing sectors seeking help in barricading their mobile apps from hackers.

In adding Martin Pfinsgraff, until recently the OCC's deputy comptroller for large-bank supervision, and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Linda Medler, a cybersecurity expert, the regional bank says it is trying to build a board with expertise in fields of timely interest.

The people-helping-people model proffered by LendingClub and others quickly foundered, but several startups aim to bring it back with the help of distributed ledger technology.

The world’s biggest chipmakers and software companies, including Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., are coming to grips with a vulnerability that leaves vast numbers of computers and smartphones susceptible to hacking and performance slowdowns.

Cybersecurity systems, as sophisticated as they are, are clearly not doing the job. And maybe they never will, given that in the end the effectiveness of those systems can be overridden by workers inside the organization, writes Tal Vegvizer, director of research and development for Bufferzone.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau featured in three of our most read articles of last year, while two others were about the disruptor Ripple. Other highlights included our annual Women in Banking package, the aftermath of the Equifax data breach and news of Amazon's possible banking plans.