VirtualBank, a Florida-based federally chartered, FDIC-insured on-line bank, is all set to deploy PhoneFactor’s phone-based two-factor authentication to improve security for its online banking customers.
VirtualBank has branded the process they have built around the PhoneFactor service ‘PhoneGuardian,’ and will make it available to all of its customers free of charge. PhoneFactor will be used to authenticate logins that are considered high risk based on a custom algorithm that examines numerous parameters at the time of login. If a user gets an authentication call when not logging in, a fraud alert can immediately be sent to VirtualBank to instantly lock the account and protect the client.
Steve Dispensa, CTO of PhoneFactor, said: “Real two-factor authentication is critical to secure online banking sessions, particularly those that are deemed high-risk. Historically, banks have deployed methods like security questions or secret phrases to authenticate users. With today’s threat landscape especially with man-in-the-middle attacks on the rise going outside the online channel for authentication truly helps keep customers secure.”
Frank Barbato, chief information officer of Virtual Bank, said: “Security comes first for us at VirtualBank and we are constantly working to make it better. We feel equally as strong about our clients’ on-line experience and the impact that all the security protections have on them.
“After all, our clients just want to access their accounts and get on with their lives rather than answering questions about their pet’s name. PhoneFactor’s flexibility in their platform enables us to both meet today’s security needs while offering a superior user experience.”
PhoneFactor, a provider of two-factor security services, uses any phone as second form of authentication.
