High-tech crime on the rise

Nearly 70% of member companies in a U.K.-based business association have reported increases or dramatic increases in deliberate high-tech crime, according to a membership survey by The Corporate IT Forum.
The U.K. business association has a membership of more than 150 large, blue-chip companies.
Companies participating in the survey also reported spending more on fighting digital crime. Sixty-eight per cent of survey respondents said they were forced to spend up to 40% of their security budget protecting themselves against high-tech crimes, according to a Lloyd’s of London press release.
The release broadly discusses E-crime risks and available policy protection.
Digital crime rose 9% in 2007, as noted by Lloyd’s. The insurer cited as its source a company named Garlik, an online identity firm that found more than 3.5-million online crimes were committed in the U.K. last year.
The sharpest rise, in 2007, was in online financial fraud, with more than 250,000 incidents reported — a 20% increase over 2006.
E-crime is always a risk, but certain businesses are more vulnerable than others, says Paul Howard, head of insurance and risk management at Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd.
“Some organizations might be more prone to ‘hacktivism’ for example, if they are involved in environmental issues, for instance,” Howard says. “Companies that hold a lot of personal data will also be attractive to e-criminals.
“But as with ‘bricks and mortar’ crime, the most attractive companies are the ones with ineffective defences. If you make it difficult for criminals they will try again with someone else.”