Cyota's online authentication and anti-phishing services will provide real-time information about confirmed phishing attacks to the Microsoft Phishing Filter reputation service for users of the MSN Search Toolbar and the upcoming Windows Internet Explorer 7. Microsoft's Phishing Filter helps to enable real-time browser protection by warning users and restricting access to confirmed phishing Websites. This data will also be used in Microsoft's SmartScreen technology to help protect MSN Hotmail and Windows Live Mail Beta users.
Over the past six years, Cyota has developed an array of authentication and anti-fraud solutions for online banking. Cyota's proven services are used today by over 50 global financial institutions including new FraudAction customers ING Direct and RBC Financial Group.

"As a leading global online bank spanning nine countries, we needed a security provider with both world-class solutions and global capabilities - one who could uncover and shut down fraud anywhere in the world," said Martin Vonk, CIO/COO at ING Direct. "We selected Cyota because its eFraudNetwork enables us to leverage the collective fraud insight and diligence of so many global banks, while its strategic partnerships with Microsoft and other technology partners will help protect our customers with additional layers of security at the browser level."

All of Cyota's solutions are supported by Cyota's eFraudNetwork, a cross-bank, shared fraudster database with over 50 large member banks and thousands of smaller ones, as well as leading ISPs and technology partners. Upon confirmation of a fraudulent transaction or site, the details are sent - with the bank's approval - to Microsoft and Cyota's other partners to be blocked. This enables Cyota to help protect all its eFraudNetwork members in real-time by leveraging its broad customer and partner community.

"The safety and security of our clients' information is a top priority at RBC," said Diana Burke, Senior Vice President, Information Security at RBC Financial Group, Canada's largest bank as measured by market capitalization and assets, and one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies. "We have been using Cyota's authentication products for several years, and recently deployed Cyota's FraudAction anti-phishing service to ensure we deal with these threats in a timely and effective manner."

"As we look at the growing and ever changing threat of phishing, we recognize the need to arm our technology innovations like Microsoft Phishing Filter and SmartScreen with real-time information about breaking attacks from proven data providers like Cyota ," said John Scarrow, General Manager, Anti-Spam and Anti-Phishing Team, at Microsoft Corp. "By working together, the same valuable real-time phishing information that is used and trusted by thousands of top financial institutions worldwide can now also be employed to help aid Microsoft's efforts to bring leading edge protection to our customers."

"We strongly believe that a multi-layered approach is the best way to help protect Internet users from online financial fraud. That's why Cyota has collaborated with leading technology companies such as Microsoft to create a strong first line of defense, in addition to strong authentication solutions that better detect, prevent and defend against online fraud at the specific institutional level," said Amir Orad, Executive Vice President at Cyota. "ING Direct and RBC Financial Group are among the latest institutions whose members will directly benefit from the blocking functionality Microsoft and other technology partners provide with Cyota."

In addition to FraudAction, Cyota offers financial institutions a full FFIEC-compliant solution for online banking authentication. Cyota eSphinx is the company's two-factor Risk Based Authentication solution for online banking, which includes Cyota's eStamp reverse authentication watermark technology. eSphinx provides banks with two-factor strong authentication security that builds customer confidence without compromising consumer usability or changing the way users transact online.