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Citibank iPhone App Users Exposed to Security Threat

by Caleb Johnson on July 27, 2010 at 08:20 AM

Citibank iPhone app had security flaw.As mobile banking becomes more popular, security threats will grow -- unless banking institutions keep a close watch on their customers' personal information. According to The Wall Street Journal, users of Citibank's iPhone application were recently exposed to a security threat because a previous version of the app had stored personal information -- including account numbers, bill payments and security access codes -- in hidden files on users' smartphones (or computers). Customers were notified of the potential threat as soon as it was discovered early last week, and Citibank quickly released an updated version of the app, closing the gap and deleting the hidden files. Citigroup, Inc. claims it hadn't noticed the glitch, despite having performed multiple security tests since its release more than a year ago. The company further claimed that hackers might not have been able to remotely steal the stored information.

Despite Citibank's swift response, we're disturbed that such sensitive information could be potentially exposed to hackers. Apps are evolving at a rapid pace, which is great, as long as shortcuts aren't taken in the process. After all, it's one thing if there's a glitch in a Flash game we've downloaded, but an app that manages our finances had better be air-tight. [From: The Wall Street Journal]

Tags: Apple, banking, banks, cellphone, citibank, citigroup, hack, identitytheft, iphone, iphoneapp, money, security, smartphone, top

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