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Insight : CYBER SECURITY
CYBER SECURITY
CPI 2021: Looking beyond a high score
The release of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is always a significant event in the financial crime compliance calendar, compiling as it does a ranking of perceived corruption across countries around the globe. This year's index will make interesting, if dispiriting, reading for compliance professionals, and this piece argues of the need to look beyond the CPI to inform their own judgements based on curiosity and looking beyond the obvious.....More
Counterfeiting, Covid and Conscience
Are you inadvertently contributing to criminality? As we acclimatise to the ‘new normal’, we examine how the global pandemic has helped facilitate unprecedented growth in the UK’s counterfeit market and how compliance professionals utilise their skills to combat it.
UK sanctions – under new management
The UK has completed the process of leaving the European Union. This article is a follow up to a previous piece where the complicated relationship between sanctions and the UK’s transition from the EU was assessed. Here we will look at the reality of post-transition UK sanctions and the new sanctions landscape in the UK.....More
COVID-19, cryptocurrencies and fraud
James Thomas considers fraud risks associated with cryptocurrencies in the context of COVID-19
A year to remember
2020 has been a year that most of us would gladly forget. Nevertheless, as we look towards 2021, it is worth considering the lessons learned over the last 12 months, assessing the evolving landscape, and (where possible) drawing on any positives that have come to light. This article considers some of the main features of fraud in 2020 and highlights potential trends for the coming year.....More
The complicated relationship between sanctions and the UK transition period
As the UK leaves the EU there are some areas of legislation that will diverge from one another, sanctions is one of these. The UK adheres to both UN and EU legislation and once it leaves the EU framework it will be responsible for it’s own fate. With the transition period coming to an end, this piece will look at how the UK is preparing to strike its own path and the complexities involved in future relationships with the EU and other countries.
Cryptocurrency is complicated – but it’s not going away
Cryptocurrency has burst front and center onto the world stage, and we all need to better understand it and the technology behind it. This article will illustrate some of the challenges, even mysteries, of cryptocurrency and highlight the importance of everyone in compliance staying on top of it all.....More
How COVID-19 brought out the best in society, the worst in criminals and an increase in identity the ...
A crisis will bring out the best and worst of society and the current COVID-19 pandemic is no different. A crisis like this challenges us all to consider our actions and how we respond, this article looks at the positive ways that people have responded but also how criminals have sought to take advantage of it, in particular with the rise in identify theft.
Implications of Europe’s top court recent ruling on EU-US Privacy Shield
The US Data Privacy Shield was in place to protect personal data of EU citizens when transferred out of the EU to the US. The CJEU’s conclusion that the Shield does not provide “essentially equivalent” protection of personal data to that under GDPR and EU law has potentially serious implications, some of which we explore in this analysis.....More
Twitter cyberattack should be a wake-up call for firms
The hack of around 130 high-profile Twitter accounts reveals that nobody is immune from cybercrime. Here’s what you can do to protect your firm’s cyber defences.
5 ways to protect yourself from cyberattacks during COVID-19
With governments around the world having intervened to curtail non-essential travel and social gathering to minimise the spread of COVID-19, more of us than ever are now working from home.....More
Analysis: Cyber-attacks spike in Italy linked to coronavirus
Italy, a region in quarantine, is experiencing a spike in attempted cyber-attacks to capture the login credentials of employees working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. But not all the attacks have been successful, and that’s where the lessons lie.
2018: elections, cybercrime, Bitcoin and bribery
Unpredictability is the new normal. What does 2018 hold for our industry?....More
Stepping up the fight against cybercrime in Switzerland
Privacy and Switzerland are often seen as synonymous, and whilst Switzerland is no longer seen as a secrecy haven, protecting client data is still a badge of honour for the country. Data protection law in Switzerland has a level of protection like that of the EU Data Protection Directive, and in some respects, is reported to even go beyond EU Law, especially in relation to the protection of data pertaining to legal entities. But in an age of cyber-enabled crime, can Switzerland ensure that data is secure?
Are Bitcoin addresses shell companies in disguise?
Anonymity, discretion and confidentiality: terminology often associated with shell companies incorporated in jurisdictions with high secrecy laws. However, does the virtual economy – notably Bitcoin, the de facto currency of choice – facilitate the very same mechanisms that criminals attempt to abuse? This brief article will explore some of the key similarities between a shell company and a Bitcoin address, with a view to answering the question ‘Are Bitcoin addresses shell companies in disguise?’....More
New York: Leading the fight against crime
New York has been capturing the imagination and the attention of the world for well over 100 years. It’s a city like no other; its intoxicating pull is felt by both residents and non-residents alike. It has also long been a source of inspiration for those looking to fight crime: in the Superhero world, Marvel’s Spiderman, The Avengers and The Defenders all call New York home. Some people believe that Metropolis and Gotham, home to Superman and Batman, are also based on New York.
Is your client a money launderer?
Googled it? We offer insight to firms who vet their customers for ‘negative news’ or ‘adverse information’ through various methods of screening.....More
Ireland, Technology and Integrity
A large number of global information, communication and technology (ICT) companies are based in Ireland.
Cyber security, an ongoing concern for 2016
With the rising cost of data breaches and the rising volume of attacks, cyber security was one of the highest profile issues facing businesses in 2015. Cyber attacks are currently believed to cost business anywhere between $400-500bn a year and show little sign of abating.....More
TalkTalk hack raises important questions about regulation and data protection
The details that have emerged since the 21 October cyber attack on TalkTalk raise some serious questions not only for the broadband provider itself but for any business holding sensitive customer information.
Countering the threat of cybercrime
Can traditional risk management frameworks protect a firm from the ever increasing cyber threat? What role do financial crime systems and controls, requirements, business continuity, data loss prevention and traditional fraud prevention techniques play in the defence against sophisticated and targeted cyber attacks?....More
Cybercrime goes commercial
How some websites are using a combination of crowd sourcing, Cloud services and Internet marketing techniques to sell illegal system access and other criminal cyber services online.
The Tortoise and the Hare - Why speed may be less important than awareness when it comes to truly effective cyber security
A Jumbo Jet only travels fifty times faster than a horse and buggy.....More
The A to Z of Safe Children Online (free PDF copy)
I recently delivered a presentation in Stockholm to corporate staff on the risks arising from poor social media use. During the Q&A I was asked about guidance for parents and teachers in relation to child online activities. The audience, drawn from a leading Swedish high-tech firm, told me that an estimated 50% of Swedish three-year-olds are regular Internet users with their own online identity in some shape or form. I found this statistic alarming.
Why education and training is so important for the financial services sector
After 40 years teaching and training in universities and professional bodies, I was recently asked a question by a student about how, after so much time, it was possible to maintain keenness and enthusiasm about the subject matter of the class.....More
Digital Criminal 2012: CyberSafety Report
TRMG has been working with Legal and General to produce that firm’s Digital Criminal 2012: CyberSafety report. One of the report’s key findings is that criminals are targeting social media users online by setting up fake profiles, ‘friending’ potential targets and then tricking them into giving up sensitive personal information. The information gleaned in this manner is being used to commit identity theft, fraud and to plan burglaries.
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