Tag: cyber crime

The Scale of Cyber Crime UK

The City of London Police Commissioner Ian Dyson was a victim of credit card fraud some years ago when criminals used his credit card to pay for a hotel stay and tried to pay for their car insurance with his card.

It is estimated that 5.6 million fraud and cyber-crimes are committed each year, of which only about 10% are reported to the Police.   This does include virus attacks etc. and some things that many people would not expect to report to the Police but that still leaves a lot of crimes that are unreported, but should be reported.

Recent statistics show that of the fraud and cyber-crimes reported, only about 10% are investigated by Police.

A lot of online crime is effectively anonymous and there is little anyone can do to track down and stop the perpetrators.

Prevention can be the most practical method for getting to grips with such crimes – warning and educating  people to have proper security for their online accounts and  to behave with common sense in all dealings online.

However, the Police do have a great deal of success in restricting the actions of the criminals.

In the year to March 2017, the Police shut down 170,856 websites, bank accounts and phone lines connected to cyber criminals.

The banks and other financial institutions and payment services have a huge role to play in keeping us safe online and paying recompense to victims when necessary.

The authorities are progressively clamping down on online crime, but are always several steps behind the criminals.

Be careful

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BCC Survey on Cyber Crime

The British Chambers of Commerce recently completed its survey on cyber-crime at British businesses large and small.

The results show that one in five businesses have fallen victim to cyber-attacks in the past year and that big businesses are far more likely than their smaller counterparts to be victims of attacks (42% of companies with 100 staff or more, compared to 18% of companies with fewer than 100 employees).

The results indicate that businesses are most reliant on IT providers (63%) to resolve issues after an attack, compared to banks and financial institutions (12%) or police and law enforcement (2%).

Many businesses (21%) believe the threat of cyber-crime is preventing their company from growing.

The survey also shows:

  • Only a quarter (24%) of businesses have cyber security accreditations in place. Small businesses are far less likely to have such accreditations.
  • Of the businesses that do have accreditations, half (49%) believe it gives their business a competitive advantage over rival companies, and a third (33%) consider it important in creating a more secure environment when trading with other businesses

From May 2018, all businesses who use personal data will have to ensure they are compliant with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Cyber-attacks risk companies’ finances, confidence and reputation, with victims reporting not only monetary losses but costs from disruption to their business and productivity. While firms of all sizes – from major corporations to one-man operations – fall prey to attacks, our evidence shows that large companies are more likely to experience them.

“Firms need to be proactive about protecting themselves from cyber-attacks. Accreditations can help businesses assess their own IT infrastructure, defend against cyber-security breaches and mitigate the damage caused by an attack. It can also increase confidence among the businesses and clients who they engage with online.

“Businesses should also be mindful of the extension to data protection regulation coming into force next year, which will increase their responsibilities and requirements to protect personal data. Firms that don’t adopt the appropriate protections leave themselves open to tough penalties.

The British Chambers of Commerce website is at www.britishchambers.org.uk

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