Online Banking System Security Overview

Online Banking System Security

In online banking as with traditional banking methods, security is a primary concern. At Brighton Bank we have taken every precaution necessary to be sure your information is transmitted safely and securely. The latest methods in online banking system security are used to increase and monitor the integrity and security of the system.

The security of the Brighton Bank online banking application is addressed at three levels. The first concern is the security of customer information as it is sent from the customer's PC to the Web server. The second area concerns the security of the environment in which the online banking server and customer information database reside. Finally, security measures are in place to prevent unauthorized users from attempting to log into the online banking section of the Web site.

How Encryption Protects You

The privacy of the communications between you (your browser) and our servers is ensured using encryption. Encryption scrambles messages exchanged between your browser and our online banking server. Encryption happens as follows: When you go to the sign-on page for online banking, your browser establishes a secure session with our server. The secure session is established using a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encryption. This protocol requires the exchange of what are called public and private keys. Keys are random numbers chosen for that session and are only known between your browser and our server. After the keys are exchanged, your browser will use the numbers to scramble (encrypt) the messages sent between your browser and our server. Both sides require the keys because they need to de-scramble (decrypt) the messages when they are received. The SSL protocol, not only ensures privacy, but also ensures that no other browser can "impersonate" your browser, nor alter any of the information sent. You can tell whether your browser is in secure mode by looking for the secured lock symbol at the bottom of your browser window.

Encryption Level

The numbers used as encryption keys are analogous to combination locks. The strength of encryption is based on the number of possible combinations that a lock can have. As the number of possible combinations grows, it becomes less likely that anyone would be able to guess the combination in order to decrypt the message. Today's browsers offer 40-bit encryption or 128-bit encryption. Although both result in a large number of possible combinations (2^40 and 2^128 respectively), for your protection, our servers require the browser to connect at 128-bit encryption. Users will be unable access online banking functions at lesser encryption levels. This may require some end users to upgrade their browser to the stronger encryption level in order to access online banking functions. We support current versions of the most popular browsers, which generally all support 128 bit encryption.