Okay Blog

Auditing and documenting

This topic might appear to be quite boring, but this does not make it any less important. While documentation has been a requirement for a long time the RTS creates new challenges for anyone involved in payments. There are a number of new articles that are more demanding than previously.

Traceability and proving that you are secure

Along with the articles 29, 72 and 73 from the RTS, we explore how seriously we take traceability and payment transaction security with Okay.

Secure execution environments are now required

One of the most interesting new developments with the PSD2 in the last couple of years is that the regulatory authorities are now apparently more open to single-device solutions. This is made clear in article 9 of the RTS.

Linking payments to the user: using authentication codes

Both article 4 and article 5 of the RTS uses the term “authentication codes” quite a lot. While it is not explicit in the regulation what an authentication code is, it is likely that most people will associate it with a TAN, a “Transaction Authentication Number”, which is a variant of a One Time PIN (OTP).

Multi-factor authentication: Knowledge, inherence and possession

The impact of the Revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) on security

The Revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) has a wide range of objectives, which impacts nearly all financial institutions and many merchants. Fundamentally, as long as you are located in Europe, or do transactions with customers located in Europe, the PSD2 will have some kind of impact.

PSD2 SCA Compliance & How You Can Prepare for the Deadline

As a bank or PSP, you have to be ready to test your PSD2 compliance with strong customer authentication under the Commission Delegated Regulation before the deadline on the 14th of March 2019. A good place to start for a Single Device SCA is with our own PSD2 Compliant Strong Customer Authentication - Okay This.

PSD2 explained and why you should care

Since the revised PSD (Payment Services Directive) was proposed by the European Commission back in 2013 it has already created widespread of disruption in the European payment market. New payment processors are popping up almost daily, and the big banks are clearly moving to secure their positions before the directive comes fully into force in September 2019.

Strong Customer Authentication Service

We are pleased to announce the general availability of our Strong Customer Authentication solution, OKAY

Android root attacks can persist and live forever

The Hacker News describes how it is possible for malware to become persistent through exploiting vulnerabilities in the bootloader. But why is the bootloader such a tempting target for root attacks? Let’s have a look.

The latest news in overlay attacks

Some times it feels like security vendors are fighting an endless battle against malware creators who come up with new exploits. A common goal for malware authors is to find new ways of stealing user credentials and passwords, so that criminals can hijack accounts and even do fraudulent transactions. The mechanisms used to do this has gone under several different names: Tapjacking,

Mobile phones are under attack through from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

Lately there have been two much published reports of vulnerabilities which threatens billions of mobile phones. First, in July it was vulnerability in the firmware of a little known chip powering almost all modern smartphones, a Wi-Fi chip made by Broadcom. The vulnerability, known as BroadPwn, allows a smartphone to be infected simply by looking for known networks, something that all mobile phones do regularly. In theory the vulnerability could also be used convert the Wi-Fi chip into an access point, so that it could automatically spread itself to other phones, potentially spreading worldwide in just a few hours. You can read more about this vulnerability in this Wired article. As the firmware can be updated through the operating system any phone not updated since July is likely to be vulnerable.