[LINK] Online bank scam eats its own dead

[Jan Whitaker]

At 05:20 PM 24/01/04 +1000, Chirgwin, Richard wrote:
>In a rare event for a press conference, someone said something worthwhile.
>Peter Coroneos said (a) banks aren't doing enough to protect the integrity
>of the online medium; and (b) he would like to see a code of practise for
>the way banks use the Internet (eg standardise the security and behaviour of
>Internet banking applications, don't encourage careless use of e-mail).

Speaking of banks, I saw the movie The Bank for the first time last 
week.  [DVDs have brought me back to movies!  $5/5wkly at Civic].  It is so 
much like the recent NAB fiasco, you gotta wonder.  The commentaries by the 
writer, director and producer are spot on for what is going on now.  They 
point out that the shift is away from Gordon Gekko [Michael Douglas] "Greed 
is good" to a full power play on world finance.  Stuff the customers, the 
shareholders are the 'community' now [paraphrased line from the 
film].  Excellent film, excellent acting, scary story.  Is Frank Cicutto an 
American blow in?

One of the ideas that is key to the story is the bamboozling that can be 
done by a cluey computer programmer feeding on the greed for power of those 
at the top.  I'd hate to see the banks brought down completely [too many of 
those happened already], but wouldn't it be poetic justice if those 
directors and CEOs closing branches and dumping on the depositors would 
lose just maybe 80% of their personal stake in things?  Won't ever happen, 
but a girl can dream, can't she?

Jan


JLWhitaker Associates
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at melbpc.org.au  --  http://member.melbpc.org.au/~jwhit/whitentr.htm
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