The Akamai State of the Internet report for Q3-2014 is out here.  The paragraph on to top ports being attacked leapt out at me.  In 2014 there has been a shift towards ports that highlight attack volume is aimed at business. Akamai who have shifted their business model to on of defence against large scale attacks such as DDoS are well placed to know.  Something for banks to know and be certain the attacks they will face are bound to increase. 1.2 Attack Traffic, Top Ports / … The significant decline in the volume of attacks targetingWeb-associated ports, coupled with … Continue reading The shift in cyberattacks to brute force logins – Akamai

I have long given up on predictions for banking.  The evolution of financial services has been nothing like as expected over the 19 year history since online banking began.  So here is a rather loose collection of observable trends that directly or indirectly impact banks, most strengthenining banks’ positions and some requiring adjustment.  the myth that is dis-aggregation of financial services as large banks move to become financial utilities the myth that is PFM is becoming fully exposed the near future of Banking as a business model Discussion: what is a bank? Banks do two things; they hold depositors money and they … Continue reading New Year 2015 blog post – visible trends in financial services

Venturebeat along with everyone else has its 2015 predictions out and two of their top five caught my attention.   web design using cards super contextual web Card Design Something that tech sites began using a couple of years ago, and banks in Canada are beginning to pick up with BMO leading, and RBC to a certain extent.  Of course industry leader mbank in Poland lead the way in a super simple clear and bright card based interface. Bank sites, epecially full service banks, have way too much information to house on a home page.  It is essential to place … Continue reading Thoughts on the VentureBeat 2015 predictions

Why does threat from N. Korea produce appeasement, while threats from Islamic terrorists produce resilience? My take wapo.st/1sF5Bbg Freed Zakaria asks a deep question here. For years I and millions of others have observed the development of internet, debated privacy and security. We have generally promoted the openness of internet and the advancement that brings to society as a good thing that might even make some shortcuts acceptable. But the news tonight is conformed that the NSA and others have validated North Korea, a country, actively sought out Sony admins and gained access to the Sony network. This allowed them … Continue reading The implications of weak western reaction to online terrorism from North Korea loom large

SEC. 629. From the unobligated balances available in the Securities and Exchange Commission Reserve Fund established by section 991 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111– 203), $25,000,000 are rescinded With that (on P615 of the US Omnibus Spending Bill H.R. 83) the single largest concern from the 2007 banking crisis, which was front and centre in the Dodd Frank legislation is quietly removed. Derivatives. Banks won a measure easing restrictions on their derivative-trading activities. The change would affect requirements under the Dodd-Frank law that banks spin off certain derivatives-trading activities into units that … Continue reading Treatment of Derivatives on US bank balance sheets is swept under the table

These are not quotes you want to see following a catastrophic IT failure such as hit UK NATS just now. Traffic control failure hits London flights He added: “We think it’s the whole of the UK,” He added the airport had no idea precisely what caused the problems. “We’ve got no idea how long it’s going to last. We’ve got no further information at the moment.” NATS said its engineers were en route to Swanwick to identify the problem. They would not give any further details but other than that it is a “technical problem” [ed. en-route from where one … Continue reading How not to manage IT failures

BBVA continue on their non-traditional bank approach following their purchase of Simple. This purchase is equally interesting being a company that is engaged in that persona non grata capability for bank regulators … the cloud! BBVA acquires big data startup Madiva BBVA has acquired Spanish big data and cloud computing startup Madiva Soluciones as part of its strategy to buy up companies that are developing new technologies and disruptive business models. Madiva Soluciones or Grupo Madiva – this from their home page translated by google.com/translate. BBVA has agreed to buy Madiva Solutions, a Spanish-based startup specializing in big data and … Continue reading BBVA acquires big data startup Madiva | Finextra