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I work at a bank that has a vendor that uses client credentials in order to html scrape their account pages. Most banks refuse to generate consumable methodolog

I work at a bank that has a vendor that uses client credentials in order to html scrape their account pages. Most banks refuse to generate consumable methodologies for other financial services to use their data, so they go about it the hackiest way possible.

dingoegret 7y ago
> I work at a bank that has a vendor that uses client credentials in order to html scrape their account pages. Dear god
salawat 7y ago
The bank has many reasons to specifically not provide that functionality. And if your value proposition as a company is to farm people's financial data for your own purposes, all I can say is tread carefully. It won't take much in terms of negative outcomes generated by increased attack surface to make bank/financial regulations even more strict. This practice is a clear violation of just about every bank I've seen's security policy. Normal practice would be to negotlate a data sharing of some sort, but that happening would be dependent on your company's ability to generate increased visibility for, or traffic to the bank. Anyway, tread carefully
- pbreit 7y ago
  I don’t think it’s crazy for customers to be able to retrieve their own data.
  - salawat 7y ago
    I don't either. It is, however, crazy to expect a bank to tolerate you granting a third, unknown party access to their data systems by sharing your personal credentials with the third party. Your business with the bank entitles you, and only you; barring certain exceptions at their discretion, access to that data. They do this to minimize risk and culpability in the face of a large number of adversaries that could extract value from possession of data on your personal habits. It isn't sexy, but that is just the way it works. I've banged my head against the financial industry looking for ways to improve it, but at the end of the day, a lot of the rules and restrictions they put in place actually do make a frustratingly good deal of sense. Think about this. Suppose you and 1000000 other people hand login credentials for financial service X to company Y. Company Y is basically a shell company wrapping a money laundering operation. Your combined set of login credentials becomes an ideal way to wash money into the financial system until everyone else in the financial network catches on. Then that company disappears, and sets up under a different name. This stuff happens; and even if only some people don't notice, that's all it takes.
sridca 7y ago
On the morning of August 11, 1873, Custer was encamped with a portion of the 1873 Yellowstone Expedition (Eight companies of the 7th Cavalry) along the north side of the Yellowstone River at what was later known as Pease Bottom near present-day Custer, Montana. In the early morning hours warriors from the village of Sitting Bull started firing at Custer's camp from across the river, and by dawn skirmishing had broken out in several locations. After shooting at least 3 warriors across the river, Private John Tuttle of Company E, 7th Cavalry was killed in the morning fighting, warriors then crossed the Yellowstone River above and below the camp of the 7th Cavalry and attacked Custer's troops.

dingoegret 7y ago

> I work at a bank that has a vendor that uses client credentials in order to html scrape their account pages. Dear god

salawat 7y ago

The bank has many reasons to specifically not provide that functionality. And if your value proposition as a company is to farm people's financial data for your own purposes, all I can say is tread carefully. It won't take much in terms of negative outcomes generated by increased attack surface to make bank/financial regulations even more strict. This practice is a clear violation of just about every bank I've seen's security policy. Normal practice would be to negotlate a data sharing of some sort, but that happening would be dependent on your company's ability to generate increased visibility for, or traffic to the bank. Anyway, tread carefully

pbreit 7y ago
I don’t think it’s crazy for customers to be able to retrieve their own data.
- salawat 7y ago
  I don't either. It is, however, crazy to expect a bank to tolerate you granting a third, unknown party access to their data systems by sharing your personal credentials with the third party. Your business with the bank entitles you, and only you; barring certain exceptions at their discretion, access to that data. They do this to minimize risk and culpability in the face of a large number of adversaries that could extract value from possession of data on your personal habits. It isn't sexy, but that is just the way it works. I've banged my head against the financial industry looking for ways to improve it, but at the end of the day, a lot of the rules and restrictions they put in place actually do make a frustratingly good deal of sense. Think about this. Suppose you and 1000000 other people hand login credentials for financial service X to company Y. Company Y is basically a shell company wrapping a money laundering operation. Your combined set of login credentials becomes an ideal way to wash money into the financial system until everyone else in the financial network catches on. Then that company disappears, and sets up under a different name. This stuff happens; and even if only some people don't notice, that's all it takes.

sridca 7y ago

On the morning of August 11, 1873, Custer was encamped with a portion of the 1873 Yellowstone Expedition (Eight companies of the 7th Cavalry) along the north side of the Yellowstone River at what was later known as Pease Bottom near present-day Custer, Montana. In the early morning hours warriors from the village of Sitting Bull started firing at Custer's camp from across the river, and by dawn skirmishing had broken out in several locations. After shooting at least 3 warriors across the river, Private John Tuttle of Company E, 7th Cavalry was killed in the morning fighting, warriors then crossed the Yellowstone River above and below the camp of the 7th Cavalry and attacked Custer's troops.