Security encryption and description with online banking

Q. How security of data can be ensured though encryption and decryption and what are the benefits and limitation of online banking.

Q. How security of data can be ensured though encryption and decryption?

Encryption is the process of translating plain text data into something that appears to be random and meaningless. Decryption is the process of converting cipher text back to plaintext. To encrypt more than a small amount of data, symmetric encryption is used. A symmetric key is used during both the encryption and decryption processes. To decrypt a particular piece of cipher text, the key that was used to encrypt the data must be used.  The goal of every encryption algorithm is to make it as difficult as possible to decrypt the generated cipher text without using the key. If a really good encryption algorithm is used, there is no technique significantly better than methodically trying every possible key. For such an algorithm, the longer the key, the more difficult it is to decrypt a piece of cipher text without possessing the key.

There are a few types of algorithm for data encryption. The most popular is the Data Encryption Standard. DSS is a previously predominant algorithm for the encryption of electronic data. It was highly influential in the advancement of modern cryptography in the academic world.

Smart card: A smart card is a plastic card about the size of a credit card, with an embedded microchip that can be loaded with data, used for telephone calling, electronic cash payments, and other applications, and then periodically refreshed for additional use. Currently or soon, you may be able to use a smart card to:

•       Dial a connection on a mobile telephone and be charged on a per-call basis

•       Establish your identity when logging on to an Internet access provider or to an online bank

•       Pay for parking at parking meters or to get on subways, trains, or buses

•       Give hospitals or doctors personal data without filling out a form

•       Make small purchases at electronic stores on the Web (a kind of cyber cash)

•       Buy gasoline at a gasoline station

Website: A website is a collection of web pages (documents that are accessed through the Internet), such as the one you're looking at now. A web page is what you see on the screen when you type in a web address, click on a link, or put a query in a search engine. A web page can contain any type of information, and can include text, color, graphics, animation and sound. When someone gives you their web address, it generally takes you to their website's home page, which should introduce you to what that site offers in terms of information or other services.

Generally, people look at websites for two primary reasons:

1. To find information they need. This could be anything from a student looking for pictures of frogs for a school project, to finding the latest stock quotes, to getting the address of the nearest Thai restaurant.

2. To complete a task. Visitors may want to buy the latest best-seller, download a software program, or participate in an online discussion about a favorite hobby.

CHIPS: A privately-held transferable system that allows banks to settle transactions with each other electronically. It primarily deals with large-value fund transfers, with daily totals of more than $1 trillion. CHIPS is used for transactions that are less time-sensitive, contrary to the Federal Reserve Wire Network, and has fewer members making transfers. It settles transactions by netting. For example, if Bank of America is to pay American Express US$1.2 million, and American Express is to pay Bank of America $800,000, the CHIPS system aggregates this to a single payment of $400,000 from Bank of America to American Express — only 20% of the $2 million to be transferred actually changes hands. Only the largest banks dealing in U.S. dollars participate in CHIP and smaller banks have not found it cost effective to participate in CHIPS.

Spam and Spy wore: Spam is most often considered to be electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited email. However, if a long-lost brother finds your email address and sends you a message, this could hardly be called spam, even though it is unsolicited. Real spam is generally email advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup.

Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. product when they install something else.

Any branch banking: Any Branch Banking a facility for our customers to operate their account from any of our networked branches. The branch where the customer maintains his account is the base branch and the branch from where he carries out his transactions is referred as the remote branches. Any Branch Banking facility is available in ALL branches of Corporation Bank. 

FACILITIES available under ABB:

** Cash Withdrawal

** Cash Deposit

** Fund Transfers

** Purchase of Demand Drafts / Pay Orders

** Deposit of Local Cheques

** Stop Payment facility at Remote Branches: You can give instructions to Stop Payment of cheques issued by you at any of our branches by simply giving a written request. You can also revoke the stop payment instruction issued by you earlier.

** Repayment to Loan accounts: Now you can make repayments to your loans such as Home Loan, Vehicle Loan, etc. held with your branch through any of the Corp Bank Branches by Cash / Local cheque.

Online CIB: Bangladesh Bank (BB) will start providing online information of its Credit Information Bureau (CIB) reports to banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) from July 19, which will make faster the lending services and will eventually cut the cost of doing business. BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman will inaugurate the online service at the central bank’s headquarters in the capital city, bringing an end to the manual, time consuming and cumbersome process of sharing the important credit information among banks and financial institutions.

All the 47 banks and 29 NBFIs of the country will be able to collect the online CIB reports on July 19 and onwards. The banks and financial institutions would also be able to collect the CIB reports from the central bank physically if they want, the central bank officials said.

Extranet: An extranet is a private network that uses Internet technology and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company. It has also been described as a "state of mind" in which the Internet is perceived as a way to do business with other companies as well as to sell products to customers.

Data Warehouse: A data warehouse is a relational database that is designed for query and analysis rather than for transaction processing. It usually contains historical data derived from transaction data, but it can include data from other sources. It separates analysis workload from transaction workload and enables an organization to consolidate data from several sources. Benefits of a data warehouse

•       Maintain data history, even if the source transaction systems do not.

•       Improve data quality

•       Present the organization's information consistently.

•       Provide a single common data model for all data of interest regardless of the data's source.

•       Restructure the data so that it makes sense to the business users.

•       Add value to operational business applications, notably customer relationship management systems.

Q. What are the benefits and limitation of online banking?

Benefits/Advantages:
   
* Customer service
* Higher Interest Rates
* No fees
* No Minimums
* Less Access
* Sales
* Incentives
* you don't have to wait in line.
* You don't have to plan your day around the bank's hours.
* You can look at your balance whenever you want, not just when you get a statement.
* Online banking allows you to watch your money on a daily basis if you want to. By keeping close tabs on your funds, you'll always be aware of what's happening in your bank account.
* For those experienced spenders, this option is far more appealing than the sudden discovery that you're broke!
* It's also helpful to watch how much interest you're gathering on investments and savings or what service charges you have incurred.

Limitation/ Disadvantages:
Internet account: You need to get an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which may be another hectic experience.
Security concern: Even though online banking sites are heavily encrypted, with the developing technology, it’s hard to rule out the "hackers" who may access your bank accounts.

Switching banks: This can be more cumbersome online than in person.

Money usage: You can’t spend your money from the online bank account as you wish, in the end; you will need to go to an ATM to withdraw money for usage.

Technical breakdowns: As with all technologies, online banking websites sometimes go down. If this happen when you closed your local bank or credit card accounts, you will definitely go penniless.