Geneva, 18 November 2010 - WISeKey, represented by its founder and CEO Carlos Moreira, shared a panel at the Union des intérêts de la place financière lémanique - 2010 Conference on Cyber-Criminality, to underline the need for strong authentication and digital identification in the banking sector. During the presentation, WISeKey demonstrated how cyber-criminality is increasing worldwide, as shown by the recent attacks on financial organizations and the new threats emerging from new technologies. Many security experts and companies like WISeKey who protect critical infrastructures are concerned about the threat to critical assets in banking and financial institutions in Switzerland. Carlos Moreira explained to the audience that while information security has been a key concern since the proliferation of computer networks, the increased levels of concern has prompted organizations such as the private banks to devote more resources and request assistance from security firms such as WISekey to combat this threat. Computers can be used as weapons, and the effort to improve computer security is driven by contradictory forces, as although the Internet needs to remain open, with its totally unsecured and decentralized architecture, this means that software is essentially completely unsecured allowing hackers and Cyber-attackers to find their way in.
During the presentation WISeKey demonstrated how they are helping banks and governments around the world to secure their critical assets and infrastructures and are developing solutions for the broader adoption of Trusted Cloud Applications, allowing developing countries to participate fully and reduce dependency from centralized services in foreign countries.
The shift to cloud computing in banks is fueled by the dramatic growth in business and e-banking collaboration, IP-based devices, real-time data streams, and Web 2.0 applications such as streaming media and entertainment, social networking and mobile commerce.
Carlos Moreira presented the new WISePay system, based on WISeKey technology, which allows financial institutions, mobile operators, e-commerce and catalog retailers to provide customers with universally trusted payment and money transfer services through the most common and secure channels. WISePay can either be deployed quickly by organizations through software-as-a-service & launched to smaller communities cost-effectively, then scaled, or the full platform can be installed on customer premises.
Mr. Moreira also recommended that the banks to start using the ekey+ biometric ID tokens as the ultimate guarantee of a secure mobile office space. The eKey+ is a military-grade secure USB device that can guarantee user privacy on the move and has been designed specifically for bank staff to have secure access to their data no matter what computer they work from.
Mr. Moreira demonstrated how the eKey+ can simply be plugged into the USB port of any computer to give access to the user’s virtual mobile office, allowing the user to work securely, so that there is no risk from spyware, malware or viruses, no matter how unsecure the computer is. The files on the company servers can then be accessed simply and securely, as if the employee were at their desk, allowing them to send digitally signed documents from where ever they are in the world. The user can then securely save their files and easily access them later on. WISeKey can offer the same convenience, security and privacy that employees have in the office, no matter where they are in the world.