Phones with outdated operating systems to lose mobile-banking access

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has stepped up measures to ensure mobile-banking security, assistant governor Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya said on Friday (December 20).

The central bank has issued guiding principles for mobile-banking security, which will not allow obsolete operating systems of smartphones to access banking services.She said currently mobile banking has grown rapidly. 

 

There are about 55 million accounts registered to use mobile banking in the first nine months of this year, up from 41 million accounts last year, while financial transactions reached 3.2 billion items via mobile banking, up from 2.7 billion last year.

 

Mobile phones have become a more-important tool for financial transactions, she said.

 

However, risks stemming from malwares or fake applications also posed a threat to the system, she warned. Therefore, the central bank will require financial institutions to be more careful about the security of the system.

 

Banks will have to inform customers that they cannot use mobile phones with obsolete operating systems, such as Android software prior to version 4, and iOS of iPhone prior to version 8. 

 

These outdated operating systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

 

“Mobile phones run by an obsolete operating system would have limited access to mobile-banking services or could be totally banned in the future; mobile devices that have been jailbroken or rooted would also be prohibited,” she said. 

 

The iOS latest operating version is 13.3. Mobile phones run by the obsolete Android system is less than one per cent. An estimated 10,000 mobile phones have been jail-broken and currently are used to access banking services.

 

Banks would also be required to have more complicated settings for PIN codes and passwords in order to reduce the risk of being hacked.

 

The central bank would allow banks four months to make the necessary changes before the guiding principles are enforced in May next year, she added.

Source - TheNation

Chinese smartphone brands team up to fight WeChat dominance

China’s biggest smartphone vendors are getting together for a software platform offering access to apps that can provide an alternative for WeChat’s more than 1 billion users.

Huawei Technologies Co., Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Corp. are teaming with six smaller brands for Quick App, which lets users access a range of services including mobile payments. That’s a direct challenge to the mini programs of WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd., which lets users order food and rent bikes without ever leaving the app.

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WeChat, which is available on all the major operating systems, is nearly ubiquitous in China as people use their smartphone to buy food, pay bills and send money to friends. Mini programs has further entrenched the app by making it a one-stop shop for daily essentials and helping Tencent capture more of the revenue spent by consumers.

The vendors will each have equal status in the alliance, which is designed to improve efficiency for both smartphone users and app developers, said Kaylene Hong, a spokeswoman for Xiaomi.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Windows 10 update set for October release

Microsoft on Friday announced that a major update to its Windows operating system will be released globally on October 17.

Release of Windows 10 "Fall Creators Update" will come the same day that Windows Mixed Reality headsets powered by the software hits the market, Microsoft executive vice president of operating systems Terry Myerson said in a blog post.

Unlike virtual reality gear already available, Windows headsets made by partners such as Acer, Asus, HP and Lenovo will not require cameras to track user movements, according to Myerson.

Windows headsets will be priced as low as $299, and will need to be plugged into computers powered by the Fall Creators Update, Microsoft said.

The US technology titan showed off the Windows 10 update at the company's annual developers' conference early this year to encourage creation of offerings tuned to the software.

At the time, Myerson said the update will offer, among other upgrades, "enhancements in gaming, security, accessibility, and immersive new experiences made possible by Windows Mixed Reality."

 

The original version of Windows 10 debuted a little more than two years ago.

The latest version of Windows 10 is being built into a wide array of devices that will be on the market in time for the year-end holiday shopping season, according to Microsoft.

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The company promised an audience of more than a billion people for those who develop services or applications for Windows 10.

Microsoft has highlighted how Windows 10 will let software savants serve up creations on the full spectrum of smart devices, including the HoloLens augmented reality headgear.

"By combining our physical and digital worlds, we believe mixed reality is the next step in the evolution of human computing," Myerson said in the blog post.

Microsoft was left behind in the smartphone market, which is dominated by Apple and Android-powered handsets.

Designing Windows to make Microsoft cloud services available from competitors' devices and moving quickly in the nascent mixed-reality market were seen as shrewd moves by the company.

Windows 10 is designed to power all kinds of devices, from wearable computers to smartphones to desktop machines, and an application needs to be written just once to perform on all of them, according to Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

Nadella said at the conference that "the mobility of the experience is what matters, not the mobility of the device."

To get Windows 10 adopted quickly, Microsoft plans to give it away as a free upgrade for a year after its release.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

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