Syria army 'to observe ceasefire'

BBC Online
Syria's military says it will adhere to a four-day ceasefire to begin on Friday for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
The truce will begin at 0600 (0400GMT), reported Syrian TV, adding the army would retaliate against rebel attacks.
The truce was proposed by UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who hopes it will lead to a peace process.
The news came as rebels said they had advanced into several central areas in Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a key battleground in recent months.
Scepticism
Brahimi has travelled across the Middle East over the past two weeks to promote his plan, and on Wednesday won the support of the UN Security Council.
SYRIA CEASEFIRE ATTEMPTS
Arab League: Observers deployed in late December to oversee compliance with a peace plan that included an end to violence, the withdrawal of troops from the streets and the release of political prisoners. But the monitoring mission was suspended after little more than a month as fighting continued.
Kofi Annan: Six-point plan for Syria included the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons from urban areas, and an open-ended ceasefire that was meant to take effect on April 12 and lead to peace talks. But neither side fully adhered to the plan and violence continued to escalate.
Lakhdar Brahimi: New UN-Arab League envoy toured the Middle East in October, seeking support for a ceasefire over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which starts on October 26. The ceasefire, backed by the UN Security Council, is designed to kick-start political reconciliation.
He also said most opposition groups would back the truce, though some rebels have expressed scepticism about the chances of a ceasefire working.
On Thursday, a statement from the Syrian armed forces carried by state media said: "Military operations will cease across the entire Syrian territory as of 06:00 (03:00GMT) on October 26 until October 29.
"Syrian armed forces will, however, reserve the right to reply to terrorists attacks, attempts of armed groups to reinforce or resupply, or attempts to infiltrate from neighbouring countries."
Qassem Saadeddine, a spokesman for the joint command of the Free Syrian Army, the main armed rebel group, said his fighters would back the truce.
"But we will not allow the regime to reinforce its posts," he told Reuters news agency.
Civil wars have a trajectory: anger and energy at the beginning, mounting bloodshed and exhaustion at the end as the losses mount ”
Previous attempts at ceasefires in Syria have collapsed, and the violence has continued to escalate.
The US welcomed the ceasefire, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped it would lead to political negotiations.
The uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's government started in March 2011.
Activists say more than 35,000 people have been killed since then, while the UN estimates that at least 20,000 have died.
The apparent withdrawal of Syrian forces from key Christian and Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo may be a sign that the government is coming to accept that it cannot hold the centre of the city. It is not, however, a fatal blow to its hold on Aleppo. It may even be a tactical retreat, potentially drawing rebel fighters into a trap. But it may be a concession that supply lines to its forces in the centre of Aleppo have increasingly been cut off by the rebels.
That would leave Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with a dilemma. His government's tactic in recent months has been to bomb and shell areas held by the rebels - with military helicopters and fighter jets being used. This firepower far exceeds what the rebels possess, for now.
But if the government now uses such force against the areas of Ashrafiyeh and al-Seryan, it would be a risky strategy as they contain mainly Christians and Kurds - who have not yet thrown in their lot with the rebels. The alternative, though, might mean giving up on Aleppo altogether - a defeat the government would have deemed unthinkable six months ago.
In Aleppo on Thursday, eyewitnesses and activists said government forces had moved away from military posts in the Christian district of al-Seryan and the neighbouring Kurdish area of Ashrafiyeh.
Rebel fighters had reportedly moved in, although there were also reports of continuing fighting.
"The centre of the city is right now in the hands of the Free Syrian Army," an activist going by the name of Marwan told the BBC World Service.
He said the rebels had placed snipers on rooftops to try to prevent government troops retaking the area.
A rebel spokesman was quoted as saying opposition fighters had also taken the south-western neighbourhoods of Salah al-Din and Suleiman a-Halabi.
Meanwhile in Geneva, an expanded team of UN human rights investigators said it had sought a meeting with Assad.
Carla del Ponte, a former UN prosecutor who led the case against former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic and recently joined the Syria commission, said she saw parallels with her earlier work.
"The similarity of both is that we are handling the same crimes: crimes against humanity and war crimes, for sure," she said.
"My main task will be to continue the inquiry in the direction of determining the high-ranking political and military authorities responsible for these crimes."

Barack Obama casts vote early in Chicago

President Barack Obama has cast his vote in his hometown of Chicago as his campaign seeks to boost early ballots in a neck-and-neck election race.
Obama, who is on a two-day campaign marathon across eight states, is the first president to vote early.
His Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, is in Ohio, a swing state which could hold the key to the White House.
Thirteen days from the election, a new national poll says Romney has 50%-47% support among likely voters.
The survey, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, finds that when asked about which candidate they would trust more to handle the economy, 52% backed Romney versus 43% for Obama - the first time a candidate has held a clear lead on the issue.
The president's ballot casting on Thursday was part of his campaign's wider effort to encourage early voting, with many states holding open in-person polls this week.
First Lady Michelle Obama voted by absentee ballot on October 15.
It is estimated that 7.2 million people have already cast early ballots, and that about 35% of the electorate will have already voted by polling day.
The Obama campaign also announced on Thursday that it backs gay marriage laws in three states that are holding referendums on the issue in November.
In Maryland and Washington, ballot measures are seeking to overturn gay marriage bills that were signed into law earlier this year. Meanwhile, Maine is voting on whether to reinstate a gay marriage law that was overturned in a popular vote in 2009.
Obama first voiced support for the right of same-sex couples to marry in May.
Key states
Because the US election is a state-by-state contest, a presidential candidate must win key battlegrounds like Ohio, Virginia and Florida, which do not reliably vote for either party. No Republican has ever won the White House without taking Ohio.
The Obama campaign recently won a court ruling to keep Ohio's early voting open through the weekend before the election.
Former Massachusetts Governor Romney made three stops across the Mid-Western state on Thursday, while his running mate Paul Ryan spent the day in Virginia.
But they have been distracted by the fall-out from a fellow Republican candidate's remarks on Tuesday night that pregnancy from rape was part of God's plan.
The Romney campaign has said it disagreed with the comments by anti-abortion Indiana Senate hopeful Richard Mourdock, although it did not withdraw support from him.
"We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest, but still support him," a campaign spokeswoman said.
Republicans running in tight contests elsewhere have repudiated Mourdock's remarks.
Obama criticised Mourdock on a US late-night talk show on Wednesday.
"I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas... rape is rape. It is a crime," Obama told host Jay Leno, adding that politicians had no business making decisions for women about their bodies and health choices.
On Thursday, the president makes campaign stops in Florida, Virginia and Ohio. On Monday, he will appear for the first time at a campaign event this election cycle with former President Bill Clinton.
In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Obama indicated what issues would be his priority in a second term, including a budget deal to reduce the US debt, as well as immigration.
Obama received a boost from Colin Powell, formerly Secretary of State for Republican President George W Bush, who endorsed the president on Thursday.
Powell, who also backed Obama in 2008, cited recent improvements in the economy and Obama's guidance of the US military as reasons for his renewed support.
"I also saw the president get us out of one war, start to get us out of a second war and did not get us into any new wars." Powell said, adding that under Obama the US economy was "out of the dive and starting to gain altitude".
He also expressed doubts over Romney's approach to foreign policy, saying the candidate's policies were a "moving target".

56 dead in new ethnic violence in Myanmar

At least 56 people were killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in western Myanmar, a government official said Thursday.
The 25 men and 31 women were reported dead in four Rakhine state townships in violence between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities that re-erupted Sunday, local government spokesman Win Myaing said.
He said some 1,900 homes had been burned down in fresh conflict, while 60 men and four women were injured. It was unclear how many of the victims were Rohingya people and how many were Rakhine.
In June, ethnic violence in the state left at least 90 people dead and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. Tens of thousands of people remain in refugee camps.
The United States called for Myanmar authorities to take immediate action to halt the violence. The United Nations appealed for calm.
An Associated Press photographer who traveled to Kyauktaw, one of the affected townships 45 kilometers (75 miles) north of the Rakhine capital of Sittwe, said he saw 11 wounded people brought by ambulance to the local 25-bed hospital, most with gunshot wounds.
One was declared dead after arrival. All the victims being treated were Rakhine, but that could reflect an inability or unwillingness of Rohingya victims to be treated there.
A male volunteer at the hospital, Min Oo, said by telephone that five bodies, including one of a woman, had also been brought there. He said the injured persons were brought by boat from Kyauktaw town 16 kilometers (10 miles) away, and taken from the jetty by the ambulances.
An account by a Rakhine villager in the area suggested great confusion and tension. The villager said that when groups of Rakhine and the Rohingya had a confrontation, government soldiers shot into a crowd of Rakhine, even though, according to his claim, it had been dispersing. The villager would not give his name for fear of violent reprisals.
There have been concerns in the past that soldiers were failing to protect the Rohingya community, but the Rakhine villager's account hints that the military may have been defending the Rohingya in this case.
Curfews have been in place in some areas since June, and been extended to others due to the recent violence.
Tensions still simmer in part because the government has failed to find any long-term solution to the crisis other than segregating the two communities in some areas.
The United Nations called for calm Thursday in response to the new violence.
"The UN is gravely concerned about reports of a resurgence of inter-communal conflict in several areas in Rakhine State — which has resulted in deaths and has forced thousands of people, including women and children, to flee their homes," UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar Ashok Nigam said in a statement.
Nigam said the United Nations was appealing for "immediate and unconditional access to all communities in accordance with humanitarian principles."
The statement said large numbers of people fleeing the new violence were headed for already overcrowded refugee camps currently housing about 75,000 people previously made homeless.
"Short term humanitarian support and action towards long term solutions are urgently required to address the root causes of the conflict," said the statement.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was deeply concerned about the reports of increasing ethnic and sectarian violence in Rakhine state and urged restraint.
The unrest broke out days after the US held what it described as an encouraging human rights dialogue with Myanmar — the latest sign of diplomatic re-engagement with the former pariah state, which has also seen the easing of sanctions to reward it for democratic reforms.
The unrest is some of the worst reported in the region since June, after clashes were set off by the alleged rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men in late May.
The crisis in Myanmar's west goes back decades and is rooted in a dispute over where the region's Muslim inhabitants are from. Although many Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, they are widely denigrated as foreigners — intruders who came from neighbouring Bangladesh to steal scarce land.
The UN estimates their number at 800,000. But the government does not count them as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups, and so — like neighbouring Bangladesh — denies them citizenship. Human rights groups say racism also plays a role: Many Rohingya, who speak a distinct Bengali dialect and resemble Muslim Bangladeshis, have darker skin and are heavily discriminated against.
The conflict has proven to be a major challenge for the government of President Thein Sein, which has embarked on democratic reforms since a half century of military rule ended in 2011.
It also poses a dilemma for the opposition New Light of Myanmar party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which has been reluctant to go against the tide of popular anti-Rohingya sentiment. Suu Kyi has been criticized by some Western human rights advocates for failing to speak out strongly against what they see as repression of the Rohingya.
Buddhist monks have been spearheading anti-Rohingya protests, and on Thursday staged their latest one in Yangon, the country's biggest and most important city. More than 100 staged a peaceful protest at the historic Sule Pagoda.

US calls for Lebanon stability

The US has said it is backing Lebanese efforts to form a new coalition amid rising tension sparked by the killing of security chief Wissam al-Hassan.
US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland warned a power vacuum would pose a great risk to stability.
"The export of instability from Syria threatens the security of Lebanon now more than ever," she said.
Deadly clashes erupted in Beirut and Tripoli after opposition figures blamed Syria for the attack on Gen Hassan.
"We support the efforts of President Michel Suleiman and other responsible leaders in Lebanon to build an effective government and to take the necessary next steps in the wake of the terrorist attack," Nuland told reporters.
"It's up to the Lebanese people to choose a government that is going to counter this threat. In the interim, we don't want to see a vacuum."
She added that US Ambassador Maura Connelly was due to meet Lebanese politicians to discuss the possible shape of the new coalition.
'Designed to provoke'
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held talks in Beirut with President Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday.
She also warned against the dangers of a political vacuum and welcomed efforts to "maintain stability through national dialogue".
"Such acts of terrorism are designed to provoke reaction and to create tensions," Ashton said.
"The importance of robust state institutions that continue to ensure security and provide services cannot be understated."
Gen Hassan, who headed the intelligence branch of the Internal Security Forces, was killed in a car bomb blast on Friday, along with one of his bodyguards and a woman nearby.
The senior official was a Sunni and an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He also maintained close links to the Western-backed 14 March opposition bloc and the family of its leader, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Gen Hassan's murder has led to deadly clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions. As a result, the Lebanese army has been deployed on the streets of Beirut and Tripoli to try to stem the violence.
Nation at stake
Over the weekend, President Suleiman rejected an offer of resignation from Mikati - a Sunni Muslim at the head of a cabinet dominated by the pro-Syrian Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah and its allies.
The decision prompted ex-Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to warn: "The Lebanese people won't accept, after today, the continuation of the government of assassination."
Thousands attended Gen Hassan's funeral on Sunday, which became a political rally against both Mikati and Syria.
Police scuffled with a group of protesters who attempted to storm the prime minister's office, and overnight into Monday protesters set up road blocks in Beirut, prompting exchanges of gunfire.
On Monday, dozens of people set up camp outside Mikati's office, calling for his resignation.
Opposition MPs boycotted Tuesday's parliamentary sessions.
The army has urged "all political leaders to be cautious when expressing their stances and opinions" and in attempting to mobilise public action "because the fate of the nation is at stake".
The military is a widely respected institution in Lebanon that has often been required to stand between the country's diverse political and religious factions.

3 held with Tk 15 lakh fake notes

Detective Branch of police arrested three people along with fake notes worth Tk 15 lakh at Gulistan in the capital Tuesday night.
A team of DB captured the trio from in front of the GPO around 10:30pm, Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DB told The Daily Star on Wednesday.
The arrestees whose identities could not be known immediately have been taken to DB office at Minto Road for interrogation.
DB will organise a press conference later in the day to inform details about the arrests.

Pybus quits as Bangladesh coach Jurgensen made head coach for WI series

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday confirmed that Bangladesh cricket team coach Richard Pybus has resigned.
The BCB also appointed former Australian cricketer Shane John Jurgensen as Bangladesh team's head coach for the upcoming series against the West Indies.
The West Indies are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on November 5 to play two Tests, five ODIs and one T20.
The second Test and the first two ODIs are expected to take place in Khulna, while the rest of the matches will take place in Dhaka.
Pybus, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, said that he will not continue as Bangladesh coach because he feels 'differences' in the terms of his contract and the interference from administration made his position untenable.
During the interview he stated that contractual differences and the board's frequent interference were the main reasons that enforced him to take the decision.
Pybus said the BCB wanted him to spend 320 days a year with the Bangladesh team, a commitment he was not ready to make because of family reasons.
The BCB's board members are currently adjourned in a meeting, which began at 12:00pm on Wednesday and will be available to comment on the issue after they step out.
"The board approached me earlier this year on three occasions to become head coach. I turned them down twice, as I couldn't commit to the amount of time they wanted me to be with the team and in Bangladesh, which was 320 days a year," Pybus told ESPNcricinfo.
"I said I could prepare the team in camps, tour with them and be there for all series, but I needed to get home between tours for my family. If they were happy with that, then I could do the job for them. That was when they agreed that I would be able to go home between tours. Their agreement was never made explicit in the contract they presented to me in Dhaka so I refused to sign it. That is the heart of the matter," he added.
The coach was also upset by how details of his contract with the BCB were revealed to the Bangladesh media. Despite numerous emails sent between Pybus and the board, a consensus could not be reached.
During Pybus' tenure, Bangladesh played a series of unofficial matches in Zimbabwe and Trinidad, and won a three-match Twenty20 series against Ireland.
They also lost to Scotland, won and lost against Netherlands, and crashed out of the World Twenty20 by losing to New Zealand and Pakistan in the first round.On May 30, the BCB appointed Richard Pybus as the coach of the Bangladesh cricket team a two-year term.
During Pybus' tenure, Bangladesh played a series of unofficial matches in Zimbabwe and Trinidad, and won a three-match Twenty20 series against Ireland.
They also lost to Scotland, won and lost against Netherlands, and crashed out of the World Twenty20 by losing to New Zealand and Pakistan in the first round.

TechPhoto Home-living-assistance robot

Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota Motor's home-living-assistance robot, 'Human Support Robot (HSR)', picks up a small object from the floor to hand to an operator (R) during a demonstration at the annual Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo on September 26. Learning from service dogs, Toyota engineers designed the HSR not only to grab things with its arm but also to pick up a piece of paper or plastic sheet by using suction at the end of the arm. Photo: AFP

Google's Schmidt hits out at mobile patent war

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has criticised raging patent disputes in the global mobile industry, warning that they stifled innovation and reduced consumer choice.
"Google stands for innovation as opposed to patent wars... The last thing we want to see are innovation and particular products being stopped," he said at an event in Seoul to launch Google's new Nexus 7 tablet PC.
Global smartphone giants Samsung Electronics and Apple are currently locked in a long-running patent battle over design and technology in 10 nations including the United States and Japan.
Schmidt declined to comment on any specific case, but was due to meet Samsung's mobile chief JK Shin later on Thursday. The South Korean firm uses Google's Android platform on its smartphones and tablets.
Last month, a California jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features for its Galaxy S smartphones.
Apple, which has filed patent infringement actions on earlier versions of the Galaxy S series, added the newest Galaxy S III to the list in a fresh complaint filed on September 1.
Schmidt pointed to estimates that there are some 200,000 mobile patents with "complicated" and "overlapping" technical specifications.
"I think one of the worst things that has happened in the last few years is the belief that somehow, because there are so many patents... that one vendor could stop the sale of another vendor's devices," Schmidt said.
This "literally prevents choice, prevents innovation. And I think that's a very bad outcome", he added.
Google's launch of the Nexus 7 tablet in South Korea is aimed at expanding its share of a lucrative market led by Apple's iPad with devices that use the Internet search firm's own software.
The seven-inch tablet, powered by the latest generation of Android software called "Jelly Bean", is being made for Google by Taiwan-based Asus and weighs about as much as a paperback book.
The device -- already launched in the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and Japan -- is priced at 299,000 won ($268).

Samsung launches new oversized smartphone

Samsung on Wednesday launched the newest version of its oversized smartphone Galaxy Note, just a week after Apple's iPhone 5 hit shelves, in an apparent bid to outpace its rival with a wider range of gadgets.
The South Korean electronics giant said the Galaxy Note II -- first unveiled at a trade fair in Berlin last month -- will eventually hit stores in 128 nations including the United States, where the firm's recently lost a $1.05 billion patent case to Apple.
The gadget is slightly bigger than the firm's flagship smartphone Galaxy S series and comes with a stylus "S pen" to write notes or draw on the screen.
"We believe global sales of Galaxy Note II for the first three months will be more than three times those of the previous version," J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung Electronics' mobile unit, told reporters.
The world's top smartphone maker has sold more than 10 million units of the first Galaxy Note since its debut in November and more than 20 million of the latest Galaxy S III, which was launched in late May.
"It took us some time to establish this new product category in the global market... but now we get far better response than the past," Shin said.
The launch comes after a flurry of new devices from major phone makers including Apple, whose iPhone 5 just days ago enjoyed a record launch weekend with sales topping five million.
Samsung's smaller rival LG Electronics last week put on sale the new version of its headline Optimus G, hopes it will help the world's number five phonemaker meet its goal to sell 80 million mobile phones this year.
Galaxy Note II -- powered by Google's Android software -- is equipped with a new 1.6 GHz quad-core processor that helps run multiple applications faster than the dual-core processor of the previous version.
About 15.1 centimetres long (5.9 inches), 8 centimetres wide, 9.4 millimetres thin and featuring a 5.5-inch touchscreen, it allows users to split the screen in half to view two programmes at once.
"You can exchange chat messages or take part in a video conference while checking e-mails, or take notes while watching a video speech by famous speakers," said Shin.
Samsung has been embroiled in a long-running patent battle with Apple in 10 countries, including the United States and Germany, with the two rivals accusing each other of stealing design and technology.
Last month the South Korean firm was ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features for its Galaxy S smartphones.
FROM: The Daily Star

e-banking and its challenges

Nowadays information technology defines how we communicate and do business. IT has changed our service delivery and communication pattern with stakeholders. Our local industry, which invested few years ago, has started harvesting the benefit of information technology investment.
The investment increasing rapidly as it is enabling business to reach more customers quickly than competitors. It also enables to serve more customers in more efficient manner than before.
All those competitive advantages are directly complementing revenue and bottom line. Nowadays other than technology service providers, financial industries are putting remarkable investment in technology. During the initial years, international automation was a priority. Now they are investing more to extend more convenient experience in customer service such as online banking, debit/credit cards, internet banking. Today, it is evident that e-commerce will control the business.
Electronic currency through the card industry has given the first phase of experience of e-commerce to our customers. But that has reached a limit as it is yet to be chargeable through internet. That remains still the key factor for true e-commerce succession. Fortunately regulator has responded to customers' demands. Bangladesh Bank is about to launch the gateway to facilitate currency use in the internet.
It is needless to mention that e-commerce will bring enormous opportunities to merchants and financial institutions. We have a huge untouched population which is yet to be directly connected with financial institution. The cost of service delivery is competitive because of density. The local culture is still open to receive promotion. However, all opportunities come with some challenges.
Starting from 24/7 customer service to critical back-office integration, all services are expected to be up and running with zero downtime. On the top of that customer preference will be changing time to time. Customer relationship management will be more complex and dynamic. Challenges of reducing transactional and operation costs will also come into play.
It will bring challenge for regulator also. Bangladesh bank started some e-banking service and facing part of challenges. The challenges includes the balance between convenience and security, designing products that offer a balance between competitive pricing and functionality, keeping abreast with dynamism of customer needs and innovation and lack of proper legislative framework to support the growth of e-banking.
In addition to those there are some other factors, for example, some customers still like human face and their unwillingness to change.
Those are the challenges that can be managed by the long operational experience of the financial industry. But a serious challenge which is totally new to the industry is “Information Technology Security”. Lack of trained people, lack of management awareness and inadequate infrastructure are making this the most critical issue ahead.
According to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report July-December 2007 Bank Accounts and Credit Cards are the major targets of Cyber attack:
Considering the challenge and impact on the business, we need to take this issue into serious consideration. We have to mitigate it with management willingness, trained people, best process, regular practice and making it as part of regular business.
Current concern regarding security of information transfer in e-banking is on the session layer protocols and the flaws in end-to-end computing. A secure end-to-end transaction requires a secure protocol and robust technological infrastructure to communicate over un-trusted channels and a recognised cipher at both end-points for ensuring multi-phased authentication method. The solution addresses the use of secure protocols and authentication method because trusted channels do not really exist in most of the environment, especially since the business is dealing with linking to the average consumers.
From the customer perspective it is important to know the nature of attack may affect them.
They can be affected through social engineering which is a technique of convincing people for gathering confidential information.
Malware (viruses, worms, Trojan) is the computer program written in order to harm computers or servers. These malwares can steal sensitive information of users such as PIN number, password etc.
With Phishing cyber criminals motivate users to enter their confidential information on fake web site.
Then there is simple Trojans which is limited to a handful of e-banking applications. It usually steals username, password, one time password, session information, URL and sends it back to attacker.
Generic Trojans is in the wild since 2007, but still in development phase. It may attack any e-banking or any web application.
There is no alternative to arrange user awareness program on regular basis.
The solutions to the security issues require the use of software-based systems or hardware-based
systems or a hybrid of the two. These software-based solutions involve the use of encryption algorithms, private and public keys, and digital signatures to form software packets known as 'Secure Electronic Transaction' used by MasterCard and Pretty Good Privacy. Hardware-based solutions such as the Smartcard and the MicroChip provide better protection for the confidentiality of personal information.
In order for e-banking to grow, the security and the privacy aspects need to be improved.

The Author is president, CTO forum Bangladesh, CTO NCC Bank.e-mail:tks446@hotmail.com