VPN’s provide a level of security for a specific elements of computing but are not a blanket security system.

They are typically used for point-to-point tunnels through the Internet. By using a VPN someone lurking on a local router cannot interpret the data as it is routed through. It can be useful to your PC with a remote IP address for example in the USA if you want to download content restricted to USA IP numbers. That also makes your activity invisible to your local ISP and prevents them capturing meta data about your activities.

VPN’s however do not address endpoint security. That is the security on your local PC/smartphone. Depending on how you’ve configured it, your traffic may not be forced to use a VPN each time you browse the Internet or download email. If you’re paying a VPN provider you are trusting their controls are adequately configured however they often vary. Also there’s no absolute restriction on what your PC can access on the Internet so it’s actually largely wide-open and so remains vulnerable to attack. For example:

• You may receive an email attachment with malware such as a keylogger. Anti-virus won’t pick it up because it was just crafted yesterday and only released to 100 endpoint devices before the author modified it and sent out a different variant to the rest of his target market. These never get picked up by anti-virus software. In fact Symantec said recently that there’s 1,000,000 new variants released every 24 hours. The processes of morphing and releasing are automated.
• Drive-by-download is where you browse a website and malware is downloaded and executes in the browser when you display an image. This is a common vector for the latest man-in-the-browser hacking that target banking login credentials. They’re easy to set up and they’re becoming very common. For example Telstra’s website was infected with one last year which targeted banking credentials. Anyone would pick it up purely by going to Telstra’s website and your anti-virus software won’t stop it because it’s not a virus.
• If you install a new software package then you’re trusting that supplier. But it goes further. There are all sorts of cracks and fissures between the different software packages and versions configured on your device. These are what the the hackers exploit. VPN’s can’t address any of these issues.
• Anti-virus software products Trend and Symantec last year were named as the back-door being used by hackers to install their malware. This was detailed in two separate announcements two separate broadcasts by Google Security team.
• According to McAfee the average time a hacker has infiltrated a PC or network before they attack is 293 days. They are undetectable. Once they are into your PC they’re effectively sitting in your lap and ready to take over your keyboard whenever they choose. A VPN makes absolutely no difference.

BankVault addresses the cyber security issue by doing things completely differently. It’s conceptually simple to understand and is easy to use. It comprehensively addresses every attack vector by simply sidestepping everything for the duration of critical online transactions such as banking. It can be provided as a dedicated hardware device to it can recycle the users existing PC hardware and even bypass BIOS or wireless keyboard sniffing.

So in an era where bank account hacking is growing exponentially and bank’s need to investigate before negotiating reimbursements, any delay can be crippling for cashflow and BankVault offers simple pristine protection.