Rise in cybercrime remains a concern globally
The combination of escalating geopolitical tensions, the looming economic downturn and the push to digitalise business processes is creating, according to cybersecurity experts, a “perfect storm” for hackers.
NCC (Software Escrow firm) chief executive Mike Maddison said the digitisation agenda on the back of the global pandemic has created new opportunities for hackers in opening up new ways to infiltrate and take advantage of companies.
The push to digitalise business processes comes as the Russia-ukraine war and worsening relations with China have also led to an uptick in cyberattacks from state-backed hacking groups.
The looming global recession also threatens to create stronger incentives for cybercriminals, as computer savvy individuals increasingly turn towards crime.
Elad Leon, a cyber security expert at Israeli firm CYE, said there has been an increase in cyberattacks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
He said the uptick in cyberattacks is also a result of increasing levels of cyber proficiency among people and the wide spread proliferation of highlyeffective hacking tools.
Leon said North Korean hackers have played a particularly prolific role in launching cyberattacks against major players in the global financial sector. He said Russian and Chinese hackers have tended to focus more on infrastructure companies and firms with key assets of military significance.
Maddison noted that there is often a significant lack of distinction between state-backed hackers and independent cybercriminals that are either hired by governments or simply launch attacks against enemies of their home states on their own volition.
Leon noted that hostile states are willing to turn a blind eye to those hacking their geopolitical rivals.
Ryan Kalember, executive vice president of cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, said, “opportunistic cybercriminals” are taking advantage of political and economic volatility, as he noted there has been an uptick in attacks on the back of the war in Ukraine.
For the UK, it is becoming increasingly essential to protect against fraud and cybercrime if it is to ensure it’s the “safest place to do business in the world”, the head of the City of London police has warned.
The chair of the capital’s police authority board, James Thompson, said ensuring businesses and customers are protected is “vital” to Britain’s economic growth.
The comments were made at the launch of the police-led Cyber Resilience Centre for London which aim to lessen businesses’ vulnerability to cybercrime.
“Reducing the vulnerability in our business community will ultimately protect us all,” Thompson said.
The launch comes after City law firm Edmonds Marshall Mcmohan (EMM) launched its own pro-bono cybercrime helpline, to offer advice on launching private prosecutions against hackers. Private prosecutions let victims of fraud and cybercrime circumvent the justice system by launching prosecutions privately as law enforcement agencies struggle with scarce resources.
The launch of EMM’S cyber helpline follows the publication of findings by the House of Commons justice committee showing fraud now accounts for 40 per cent of all crime – even as just two per cent of police funding is dedicated to tackling the problem.
“The state is effectively not functioning in this area,” EMM partner Ashley Fairbrother said.
He explained that private prosecutions are often the only way victims are able to recover stolen assets.
In one case a 70-yearold man who lost £300,000 worth of his life-savings was able to recover the bulk of his stolen cash via a private prosecution.
According to figures from the United Kingdom’s office for national statistics, just 7,609 defendants were prosecuted for fraud or forgery in the year ending in September 2021, despite there being an estimated 4.6 million fraud cases over the same period.
Fairbrother warned the lack of state prosecutions was encouraging the increase in cybercrime. Fraudsters know that very little action is taken by state enforcement but private prosecutions act as a deterrent.