Cybercrime. Why is it on the Rise?

“A low risk crime, that provides high pay offs”, a quote from a recent McAfee report that much of the reason for the rise in Cybercrime can be attributed to.

Add on the increasing accessibility to the internet across the World, the increased use of technology such as smart home equipment, online banking and cloud data storage, you’ve got yourself most of the answers!

The following case study gives an example of why Cybercrime can be seen as low risk.  In June 2018, it was reported that Ticketmaster had suffered a data breach, up to 40,000 users may have had their log in details, home address, telephone number and payment details compromised.  The company has also been accused of sitting on the breach.  It was brought to the attention of the banks and users by digital banking firm Monzo, who noticed an unusual spike in some of their customers’ card usage in April.  So, as well as the delay in informing customers, the company affected is reported to be currently investigating the “way” that the data was breached, let alone starting on the “who”!  Any hope of seizing the criminals and preventing further crime is quickly diminishing.

Company’s suffering data breaches risk a loss of customer trust, litigation and high financial fines, which is why the covering up of compromised accounts has been a trend in recent years, giving Cybercriminals have the added benefit, that their initial victim, the company, will also be helping to bury the crime!

Another fact that lowers the risk of Cybercrime is that the internet is not restricted by international borders.  If a crime is committed within the UK, from a team in Vietnam, there would be a number of lengthy, legal procedures to go through before the criminals can be investigated and arrested, leaving plenty more time for the criminal team to cover their tracks and disappear.

Finally, a lack of training within company employees means that there is often a lack of awareness in how to spot or prevent a cyber-attack from happening and sometimes, pure negligence regarding confidentiality and security means that the increased amount of stored digital data is treated haphazardly and easily intercepted by the opportunistic hacker.

So again, it seems that Cybercrime cannot be ignored and we must learn to adapt our daily practices to spot, stop and prevent it within our own offices.  The National Cyber Security Centre has put together a “10 Step Plan”, to help organisations protect themselves in Cyberspace.  You can download it here.

Where we come in?  Along with recent Cyber Security guidance issued by IOMFSA and GDPR, it is essential that Cyber Security forms part of your company insurance policy.  Download our cyber crime brochure here if you’d like information about how we can help, or contact Peter O’Donnell if you’d like to take action to start protecting your business right away.

01624 639450. Peter.O’[email protected]

References:

Economic Impact of Cybercrime No Slowing Down, James Lewis, McAfee.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/10-steps-executive-summary

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jun/27/identity-theft-warning-after-major-data-breach-at-ticketmaster