By displaying more information on the screen of the new Digipass 870 card reader about transactions the device is used to secure, Vasco Data Security hopes to decrease the effectiveness of social engineering.
In their battle with hackers, banks have been increasingly willing to invest in more advanced authentication products.
"There is more of a sense of urgency now than in the past. Hackers have moved from attacking the technical side to instead focus more on social engineering," said Niels Decraene, regional sales manager at Vasco.
Social engineering is all about misleading users and getting them to enter information on a website they shouldn't. The key to getting around this is to let the user enter and see as much information as possible on the screen of the card reader instead of on the more vulnerable computer screen.
For example, PIN codes are directly entered on the reader and not on the computer keyboard. Therefore, they are never exposed over the Internet or the PC. Important transaction information such as amount, account and reference number is displayed on the device and must be confirmed by the user by entering a PIN code to approve the transaction.
To allow users to see more information, the Digipass 870 has a screen that fits up to six lines of information. That compares to the two-line LCD screen on its predecessor, the Digipass 855. The screen also has a better resolution.
The card reader can be used in both unconnected and connected modes. The latter means the device is connected to the Internet via PC using a USB cable. That allows the device to not only be used for authentication, but also as a secure communication channel.
"Banks increasingly prefer to use the connected mode, because it allows for more advanced functionality, including the secure communication," Decraene said.
Two European banks, one for corporate and one for retail use, have signed on to use the Digipass 870. The first will start using it during the third quarter, according to Decraene. The company doesn't want to specify what it costs, but it is a high-end card reader, he said.
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