Australia's largest banks have been the target of a sophisticated Android attack... Supply and demand balance eases bubble concerns...
Malware attack on major banks' apps
Australia's largest banks have been the target of a sophisticated Android attack, stealing customers' banking details and breaking past two-factor authentication security, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank customers are all at risk from the malware, which superimposes a bogus login screen over the top of the legitimate banking apps to obtain usernames and passwords.
The malware is able to mimic the appearance of 20 different mobile banking apps from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, as well as login screens for PayPal, eBay, Skype, WhatsApp and several Google services.
Apart from Australia's Big Four banks it targets a range of other financial institutions including Bendigo Bank, St. George Bank, Bankwest, ME Bank, ASB Bank, Bank of New Zealand, Kiwibank, Wells Fargo, Halkbank, Yapı Kredi Bank, VakıfBank, Garanti Bank, Akbank, Finansbank, Türkiye İş Bankası and Ziraat Bankası.
"This is a significant attack on the banking sector in Australia and New Zealand, and shouldn't be taken lightly," says ESET senior research fellow Nick FitzGerald.
"While 20 banking apps have been targeted so far, there's a high possibility the e-criminals involved will further develop this malware to attack more banking apps in the future."
Supply and demand balance eases bubble concerns
Concerns of a bubble in Australia’s housing market are overblown according to a senior official from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), who believes the market is in a better position than it has been in recent years.
Speaking at the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) National Congress 2016 this week, RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe said Australia’s housing market currently has a better balance of supply and demand compared to when he spoke at the conference in 2010.
Lowe admitted at the conference that there had been a large “run-up” in house prices in Sydney and Melbourne, but an increase in supply, coupled with a slowdown in population growth, has helped to avoid any price bubble.
Increased housing construction has also put downward pressure on rents. The CPI measure of rent inflation, according to Lowe, sat at 1.2% in 2015.
“Whether or not these trends are maintained remains to be seen, and so we continue to watch developments in the housing market very closely. However, the overall picture does appear to be one of a better balance between supply and demand than was the case in 2010,” Lowe said.
“Since then, population growth has slowed, and the rate of growth in the dwelling stock has increased so that it now once again exceeds that of the population,” he said.
You may have missed:
BDM in the spotlight: Sean McGarry
Getting repeat business from self-employed clients
Breaking the shackles of the big banks
Australia's largest banks have been the target of a sophisticated Android attack, stealing customers' banking details and breaking past two-factor authentication security, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank customers are all at risk from the malware, which superimposes a bogus login screen over the top of the legitimate banking apps to obtain usernames and passwords.
The malware is able to mimic the appearance of 20 different mobile banking apps from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, as well as login screens for PayPal, eBay, Skype, WhatsApp and several Google services.
Apart from Australia's Big Four banks it targets a range of other financial institutions including Bendigo Bank, St. George Bank, Bankwest, ME Bank, ASB Bank, Bank of New Zealand, Kiwibank, Wells Fargo, Halkbank, Yapı Kredi Bank, VakıfBank, Garanti Bank, Akbank, Finansbank, Türkiye İş Bankası and Ziraat Bankası.
"This is a significant attack on the banking sector in Australia and New Zealand, and shouldn't be taken lightly," says ESET senior research fellow Nick FitzGerald.
"While 20 banking apps have been targeted so far, there's a high possibility the e-criminals involved will further develop this malware to attack more banking apps in the future."
Supply and demand balance eases bubble concerns
Concerns of a bubble in Australia’s housing market are overblown according to a senior official from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), who believes the market is in a better position than it has been in recent years.
Speaking at the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) National Congress 2016 this week, RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe said Australia’s housing market currently has a better balance of supply and demand compared to when he spoke at the conference in 2010.
Lowe admitted at the conference that there had been a large “run-up” in house prices in Sydney and Melbourne, but an increase in supply, coupled with a slowdown in population growth, has helped to avoid any price bubble.
Increased housing construction has also put downward pressure on rents. The CPI measure of rent inflation, according to Lowe, sat at 1.2% in 2015.
“Whether or not these trends are maintained remains to be seen, and so we continue to watch developments in the housing market very closely. However, the overall picture does appear to be one of a better balance between supply and demand than was the case in 2010,” Lowe said.
“Since then, population growth has slowed, and the rate of growth in the dwelling stock has increased so that it now once again exceeds that of the population,” he said.
You may have missed:
BDM in the spotlight: Sean McGarry
Getting repeat business from self-employed clients
Breaking the shackles of the big banks
