HSBC банкны мобайл аппликейшн виртуал орчинд ажиллахаа больжээ

HSBC has blocked its Android app from running inside Samsung Secure Folder and Android Private Space without warning, leaving some customers unable to access online banking. The Register asked HSBC to explain the change. It said the block was “a proportionate security control designed to mitigate a foreseeable security risk. It does not prevent customers from accessing the HSBC UK Mobile Banking app – customers simply need to access our app outside of the virtual space environment.” When we asked why, HSBC said: “For security reasons, our mobile banking app cannot be used within certain protected private space and virtual space tools, which could prevent or limit the identification of certain threats, or from sending timely fraud notifications.” One reader who installed the app in Samsung Secure Folder said they received no advance warning and felt “held hostage from my own account.” The app now displays a generic message about a security problem with the device and offers only the option to quit. Samsung Secure Folder uses the company’s Knox platform to isolate and encrypt apps and data behind separate authentication. Android’s Private Space, introduced with Android 15, similarly places selected apps in a separate profile that can be hidden and locked. Our tipster said the block also prevented them from using web banking because HSBC required the app for multifactor authentication. They said no alternative access method had been arranged before the change. Reviews on Google Play describe similar experiences. One Android user said the app had stopped launching from Samsung Secure Folder because HSBC deemed it “an unsecured virtual environment.” The reviewer called the decision particularly baffling because they had put the banking app there for additional protection. Another reviewer said they had been cut off from their account after the app stopped opening in Secure Folder. They claimed they could not activate another installation outside it because doing so required a code from the inaccessible copy. Responding on the Google Play reviews page, HSBC asked both reviewers to contact it privately. Customers acknowledged that the bank may be trying to mitigate a security risk, but questioned why it did not warn them before removing support. One argued on Reddit that the lack of warning may conflict with HSBC’s obligations under the FCA’s Consumer Duty. FCA guidance says banks should help customers understand changes through communications sent in advance and have processes for technical problems that prevent account access. They added that the “change was introduced without warning. A setup that had been working simply stopped working, leaving me unable to use the personal banking app.” The poster said HSBC’s app team told them Secure Folder could limit the app’s ability to detect threats and interfere with fraud notifications. They countered that blocking the app entirely also deprives affected customers of those notifications and the ability to respond through the app. Another said: “I called to complain and was told this is an intentional policy change and I need to store it in the regular part of my phone as they consider this to be more secure. “No advance communication of the change, and the policy seems mad to me. Downside for me is that if I refuse to install in the regular part of my phone I cannot access my online banking via a desktop for 5-10 working days whilst they send me an authentication token. So essentially I’m locked out of banking for 5-10 days.” Our tipster said HSBC’s help pages and chatbots contained no information about the change, while branch staff could not explain it and telephone support repeated that the device had a security problem. When we asked HSBC about how it planned to notify customers, an UK spokesperson told us: “Customers who try to access our app with private space and virtual space tools are informed that to help protect their accounts, they will not be able to access the HSBC UK mobile banking app within private space and virtual space tools.” This is not the first time HSBC’s mobile security checks have locked out customers. Earlier this year, the app flagged sideloaded installations of Bitwarden as a potential risk. F-Droid board member Neil Brown said HSBC locked him out of its app after it detected a copy of Bitwarden installed from the open source app catalog rather than Google Play. HSBC said at the time: “Protecting our customers’ accounts and personal information is our priority. Our app performs checks to identify potential malware risks and can require users to take additional steps to keep their accounts safe.” In that case, the user was told access would be restored if they removed the sideloaded app. Customers affected by the latest block say their choices are to install HSBC’s app in the main phone profile, which isn’t possible for some customers without an authentication code from the old one, or wait five to ten working days for another authentication method to access desktop/web banking. It is possible to use a Physical Secure Key, or PSK, to access desktop banking, but if the customer does not already have this, it could take several days to reach them. When we asked about this, an HSBC UK spokesperson told us: “Customers simply need to open the HSBC UK Mobile Banking app outside of the Samsung Secure Folder. Customers that are unable to use the app can use a PSK to access desktop Online Banking.” Samsung describes Secure Folder as an encrypted, Knox-protected space, while Google says Private Space isolates selected apps in a separate Android profile. That isolation may also restrict the security information available to apps running inside them. The Register has contacted Google and Samsung for comment. ®