Adelaide Bank moves to quell online fraud

05.12.2006
Adelaide Bank Ltd. will deploy new transaction monitoring software to assist in detecting high-risk online transactions thereby reducing losses due to fraud.

The new transaction monitoring system, supplied by the EMC Corp.-owned RSA Security Inc., scans online activity in real time to track fraud indicators and generate a "risk score" for each transaction. Customers are then authenticated by the system.

According to RSA, the software works transparently and Adelaide Bank customers should only see it become more involved in the transaction if there are indicators that it is fraudulent.

Adelaide Bank chief information officer John van Ruth said both customers and partners rely on the bank to protect their financial assets and individual identities, so it wanted to ensure there are no uncertainty or security concerns when using online banking.

"[This] is why we have gone to considerable lengths to make the user experience friendly and secure," van Ruth said. "By working with RSA we are continuing our efforts in working behind the scenes to ensure online security."

The deal makes Adelaide Bank the first local bank and financial institution to become part of the RSA-led global eFraudNetwork community.

"Technology is at the heart of any financial institution and Adelaide Bank is continuing to make significant investments in technologies that make it easier to do business with us and provide a positive customer experience," van Ruth said.

"This solution is a key part of our ongoing strategy to provide our customers and partners with stronger, flexible and multi-layered authentication solutions."

The solution also compares the data to known fraud patterns compiled by the RSA eFraudNetwork community, which now claims "thousands" of global financial institution members, including some of the world's largest banks.

RSA finance and security specialist Geoff Noble said the company is pleased Adelaide Bank is the first local financial institution to join the eFraudNetwork, and the company will be working with the bank in conjunction with online banking solution provider Sandstone Technology to further improve security.