Survey Says Online Banking Security Flaws Prevalent

More than 75 percent of the bank Web sites surveyed in a University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, study had at least one design flaw that could make customers vulnerable to cyberthieves after their money or even their identity. The study -- Analyzing Web sites For User-Visible security Design Flaws -- conducted by the University of Michigan's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, examined the Web sites of 214 financial institutions in 2006.

The study concluded that the design flaws researchers discovered weren't bugs that can be fixed with a patch, but rather they stemmed from the flow and the layout of the Web sites.

The flaws include placing log-in boxes and contact information on insecure Web pages as well as failing to keep users on the site they initially visited, according to Atul Prakash, co-author of the study.