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By Polly Raymond, 19 January 1999 00:30

NEWS Security Dynamics has won a $3m contract to supply Credit Suisse with a 70,000 user secure access system that will support the bank's extensive online banking venture. The system, based on a technology called SecureID, is designed to provide authentication checks of customers accessing the online banking system over the Internet and for internal employees accessing it via the bank's intranet. Werner Baer, Security Dynamics' Swiss country manager, said: "Credit Suisse has in place a model of banking for the future and has used our product to support it." He told Silicon.com that the bank intends to extend the network soon because each customer serviced on the network rather than through physical branches means fewer overheads. Christian Leuenberger, who manages the secure network at Credit Suisse, confirmed this: "We plan to extend this secure access facility to as many as 30,000 more customers". The security systems vendor also claimed the bank chose its product because it can guarantee internal as well as external security by making sure every user has a water-tight authentication code. Credit Suisse was just as concerned about security breaches coming from its employees as from outside the company walls. Leuenberger said: "Although I have no knowledge of it happening in Credit Suisse, I do know that it's one of the biggest threats to security today." Baer told Silicon.com that there are many other similar contracts in the pipeline all coming from financial organisations basing their online ventures on Credit Suisse's model.