The Web: Expect more swindles in 2005

By Gene J. Koprowski
UPI Technology News

Published 12/22/2004 7:54 AM
CHICAGO, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- As virtual banking and other online transactions continue to grow, consumers increasingly are being swindled on the Internet. More and more, they are looking for ways to ensure the organization they are dealing with online is what it claims to be. When people withdraw money at the bank, the teller usually asks for some ID to prove they are who they claim to be. It would be quite unusual, though, for a customer to ask a bank employee for ID. The bank infrastructure -- right down to the mahogany paneling and portraits by famous artists on the wall -- assures people they really are at the bank.Not so online, but that is about to change."When I log onto a Web page the bank is reasonably sure I am me," said Mark Rasch, senior vice president and chief security counsel of Solutionary Inc., a security software developer based in Bethesda, Md. "We, however, need to redesign the whole system. We need to be able to authenticate both parties to each other."-- The Web is a weekly series by United Press International that covers the technological, economic, and cultural implications of the phenomenon known as the World Wide Web. Contact Gene J. Koprowski at sciencemail [at] upi.com