01 Jun, 2009
B2B in Canberra Magazine (June): Advice Column with Doug Stuart
1987, like 2009 (and late-2008), was a year for some to remember and for most, to forget. It was of course the year when stock markets around the world crashed; and in Australia, the scene was probably best remembered by the oft repeated line originally coined by the previous Labor PM, Paul Keating: 'the recession we had to have'.
Aside from the ensuing collapse and corrections to global financial markets, the economy and general standard of living, what emerged in 1987 following the economic collapse was another crisis; a far more insidious and dangerous threat than ever before. From the fall-out of 'Black Monday' in late-October 1987, was not just a spike in crime and fraud in general, but a vast increase in cyber threats and the incidence of IT fraud.
Fast forward to 2009 and while we are all reluctant to use the dreaded 'R' word, we're certainly in the midst of an economic downturn, albeit hopefully a short-term one in this region. So, what has changed? Sure the fashion, hairstyles and music have evolved (again some may beg to differ on this!), the advent of sophisticated technology and the internet has facilitated a corresponding increase in cyber crime and IT fraud.
The economic slowdown and rises in IT fraud go hand-in-hand. The escalation in identity and in account takeover frauds in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008 confirms this.
According to a recent Reuters article in the US citing a report issued in late March 2009 by the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Centre, Internet fraud in the U.S. increased by 33% in 2008, rising for the first time in three years. As the US suffers through a deepening recession, early indicators for 2009 are equally foreboding; with February to March 2009 showing a 50% increase in reported Internet fraud complaints.
Internet fraud includes everything from phoney sales on auction and classified sites such as eBay Inc. and craigslist.com to identity theft and financial scheme scams.
The report also cited that Identity theft is now significantly the fastest-growing crime in the United States-with nearly ten million Americans, almost half our population, victims of some form of identity fraud each year. And, even if consumers make conscious efforts to protect their credit card information, 80% of identity theft is unrelated to credit fraud. Phone and utilities fraud, bank and loan fraud, employment and government document fraud, and medical records fraud represent perhaps even more pernicious forms of ID crime.
We've all heard of similar scamming and fraudulent activity in Australia to raise our ire and deepen our suspicions about the security of our Information and private details.
While it is easy to forget the styles and tunes of 1987, it is really important to remember to seek advice to protect your business and individual information and systems from the many and varied threats and risks we confront today.
Cyber crime and fraudulent activity never really goes out of fashion, particularly during economic slowdowns: as it was in 1987, so it is today.
Doug Stuart is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at stratsec. For your small business information security needs, contact stratsec T: 6260 8878 E: info@stratsec.net www.stratsec.net.