About half of top managers pay money into corporate accounts via a mobile banking app, according to a recent joint survey by the IT security product company Kaspersky Lab and B2B International. It found that over 30 per cent of companies use mobile devices to access corporate bank accounts and to make financial transactions.
The survey concluded that business representatives were increasingly making financial transactions with the help of mobile devices. In particular, 28 per cent of small and medium companies, and 34 per cent of enterprises, conducted financial transactions via mobile devices. And it is not just those in financial departments (63 per cent) but also top managers (54 per cent) and even ordinary employees (8 per cent) that freely make corporate financial transactions via mobile apps.
The growing use of mobile devices for corporate banking could be putting company funds at risk, the IT firm warned, as mobile cyber-threats have become much more widespread in recent years and are just as dangerous as computer-based threats. Hackers are also increasingly targeting mobile platforms. In fact, in the third quarter of 2015, Kaspersky Lab products for mobile devices detected more than 300,000 new malicious programs. Of these, the highest growth rates were demonstrated by a Trojan-Banker designed to steal credentials to Internet banking and e-payment systems, as well as credit or debit card data. The share of this type of malware increased from 0.6 per cent (630 programmes) in the second quarter to 1.5 per cent (2500 programmes) in the third quarter.
Ross Hogan, Head of SafeMoney Business Development, Kaspersky Fraud Prevention, Kaspersky Lab, said: “The trend shows a continual increase in mobile banking usage by corporate banking clients. This trend is certain to continue as corporate and consumer banking clients alike migrate to the convenience of mobile banking. This creates an operational imperative for banks to very carefully consider the security and fraud prevention approaches they need to take in order to adequately ensure secure mobile banking applications, protect confidential customer data, and guard high-value corporate customer transactions. All users of mobile banking services, corporate and consumer, must also be vigilant about their own security and behaviour while also questioning their bank about the measures taken to ensure their safety.”
