Bank hackers show legacy weakness

Hackers who were able to transfer money from customers of a Dutch PC banking service have highlighted the vulnerability of the banking sector's legacy systems, analysts warned this week.

Acting as part of an expose for a Dutch TV show, hackers showed how they could transfer money from customers' accounts after infiltrating the PCs through an e-mail virus.

Graham Titterington, senior consultant at analyst Ovum, said, "This highlights an important issue in banking security. Legacy systems don't have built-in mechanisms to allow tiered access that you need for Internet banking.

"The big problem is that you are using applications in a way that they were not meant to be used."