'Here's how you rob banks using Microsoft software'

NEWS A former hacker has demonstrated how to break through the online defences of internet banks by breaching the security of Microsoft's web server software. An unidentified Swedish hacker-turned-security-expert showed a Reuters reporter how he could by-pass the security guarding three of Sweden's four biggest banks in a matter of minutes. While the hacker did not break into individual accounts he reportedly made it clear that he could have set up money transfers from one account to another. He even showed how it was possible to then cover his tracks to avoid detection. This revelation will be a further embarrassment for Microsoft whose server security has been a cause of industry concern on many occasions in the past. It will also damage the reputations of online banks who are constantly waging a battle against inertia among customers unwilling to move online due of concerns about security. According to Reuters, the former hacker relied on various weaknesses resulting from Microsoft's implementation of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) - the industry standard for transmitting sensitive data such as credit card numbers and passwords via the internet. However, Microsoft isn't solely to blame for the vulnerabilities. The former hacker said the bank's own network administrators, who have failed to properly install Microsoft's software, must take a large share of the blame.