There's a new threat to financial institutions that goes by thename of 'commjacking,' which will hopefully catch the attention ofcredit unions before a new style of data breach hits them.

Commjacking is a “back door” for cybercriminals, public Wi-Fihotspots and cellular networks that are not as secure as they needto be. CoroNet, a cybersecurity software company, coined the termto describe what it believes to be the fastest-growing securitythreat worldwide: the ability to hijack the communication channelbetween any device and the Wi-Fi and cellular networks to which thedevice is connected.

Commjackers are a class of signal thief that has been largelysecreted away inside governments and other sophisticated, extremelywell-funded, spy organizations, according to Dror Liwer, chiefsecurity officer, Israeli security firm CoroNet. Now, however,equipment for hijacking cellular, wireless and other over-the-airsignals has gone from millions in cost and huge in size to a merepittance, and organized crime syndicates, data thieves and otherbad guys can get hold of this tech for as little as $50 for Wi-Fiand $1,500 for cellular.

Liwer said that if left unaddressed, commjacking could wreakhavoc on an increasingly connected society in which financialinstitutions and individuals—and their data—are at risk. Thecompany hopes its solution will help by offering the ability todetect and evade commjacking in realtime, thereby helping customersavoid eavesdropping, data interception, and device manipulationwhen their devices are connected to Wi-Fi and cellularnetworks.

This new software detects and evades commjacking on any wirelessnetwork, in real time, making any device resilient to the attack.It does that by sensing the attempted compromise and sending theat-risk signal to a safe node before it can be taken hostage.

“Until now, cyber criminals, industrial spies and crimesyndicates could readily commjack the crown jewels of anenterprise. CoroNet is the first and only software solutionavailable for the enterprise that stops commjacking in its tracks,”said Liwer. “Through the use of CoroNet's breakthrough technology,carriers and MSSPs can protect enterprise customers by successfullyand immediately plugging this backdoor that cyber criminals arerushing to exploit.”

Three unnamed banks are considering CoroNet's solution,according to Liwer — two in the U.S. and one in Europe.

The first bank hopes to protect executives and employees fromcommjacking.

“You want to make sure your employees don't become a wirelessbackdoor organization, and you want to make sure their devices —laptops, tablets and smartphones — are protected,” Liwer said.

The second bank plans to use the software for perimeterdetection. This bank has several small branches in developingcountries in which small employee teams use wireless devices.

The third bank wants to protect its high-net-worth customers,Liwer said. It would monitor customers' online banking activity andmake sure they're communicating over a secure channel.

“We're not here to replace any existing security mechanisms,”Liwer said. “We're here to plug a hole that no one else is pluggingright now, so we would strongly recommend that people continue touse anti-phishing, antivirus, anti-malware and encryptiontools.”