It's time my Friday afternoon rant. But seriously, this is so appalling it really makes me wonder.

Here's some background first. The New Zealand Bankers' Association have recently updated their code of practice, it now includes several key points that relate to loss (and who is subsequently liable) in regards to someone having their account hacked, phished or account details stolen after being infected with a virus. e.g. key logging software.

The key additions to this code of practice is

You may be liable if an Unauthorised Transaction occurs after you have received the means to access Internet Banking, if for example, (but not limited to) you have breached our terms and conditions by doing the following :

You have used a computer or device that does not have appropriate protective software and operating system installed and up to date;
You have failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the protective systems such as virus scanning, firewall, anti-spyware, operating system and anti-spam software on your computer are up to date;

OK, that seems fair.

We reserve the right to request access to your computer or device in order to verify that you have taken all reasonable steps to protect your computer or device and safeguard your secure information in accordance with this Code. If you refuse our request for access then we may refuse your claim.

Ummmm, OK, that seems fair, but I have plenty of reservations over who sets the standards, and who is responsible for the computer forensics experts who will be investigating your machine.

But you see, all this is well and good assuming the banks themselves follow what I would describe as reasonable protocol. But they are not doing this, and if this is a trend that continues, I would argue that the banks themselves are always going to have liability. Their own negligence is socially engineering people into accepting that they may see, be part of, or asked to interact with a banking system that operates outside of recommended guidelines.

Now, if you're wondering what on earth am I on about, take this email I just received.

First thing, my bank, in this case is

Kiwi Bank www.kiwibank.co.nz

Today I receive an email from

Sam Knowles, the CEO from Kiwi Bank
But the email address used is survey@colmarbrunton.co.nz

OK, that's not good, but being a knowledgeable type person, I know that Colmar Brunton does polls....I think....I'm actually not sure.

The email goes on to read.

As part of our commitment to providing you with the best possible service, we survey our customers from time to time so we can obtain valuable feedback. Your name has been selected at random from our customer base, and we very much hope you will find some time to complete this survey from our research company, Colmar Brunton.

Auckland 336 1133, Wellington 473 1133, from anywhere else 0800 11 33 55

I've obviously removed the code and password they gave me, but who the heck is http://cbrak.co.nz and why is http://colmarbrunton.co.nz sending me emails about my bank. Aren't I told to only trust Kiwi Bank when the website is http://kiwibank.co.nz

To anyone who knows about such things, they'll spot this for exactly what it is, complete and utter junk. To others who aren't as internet savvy, they'll perhaps consider this standard practice. But my question is then, if people accept this as standard practice, and banks continue to operate in this manner, who is responsible for falling victim to a phishing attack ? The user for entering their details, or the bank for allowing me to believe I should trust sites I've never heard of.

Now I know that this is only a survey, but it's a legitmate survey email, using terrible email practice. It's educating users in entirely the wrong manner, and is going to cause more confusion in an already confusing world.