Employees bringing their devices to work (35 per cent), and accessing their social media accounts (43 per cent) are considered the biggest risks to company security, according to a new report by Callcredit Information Group. The report, based on a survey of 200 fraud prevention managers, says more than half (56 per cent) of organisations in the UK have already been affected by fraud, and that type of problem usually starts through social media.
Organisations’ biggest priority is creating a ‘fraud aware culture’ (86 per cent), which also in a fifth of cases is considered the hardest priority to address (18 per cent).
“As fraud in our society grows, and as geographically mobile individuals increasingly need to establish their digital identity, so the pressure on fraud and risk professionals to protect their organisations and consumers mounts,” says John Cannon, director, fraud & ID, Callcredit Information Group.
“Our research reveals that more than half of organisations have been affected by fraud, demonstrating that fraud prevention is one of the biggest risk concerns facing global boardrooms.”
Currently, organised cybercrime is considered the biggest security threat, however in two years’ time, this will change to ‘denial of access’. More than a quarter (28 per cent) believe Brexit results will have a negative impact on security and will just fuel fraud. Also, biometrics has been identified as the biggest fraud preventer.
“Whilst fraud professionals might be confident in their abilities to prevent and deal with a potential breach, our research suggests that employees need much more education on the risks,” Cannon concluded.
“Explaining the threats, giving them suggestions on how to protect themselves and informing them about ways to spot a breach could be instrumental in protecting a company from cybercrime. Organisations are only as strong as their weakest link, and the entire workforce needs to understand what the cyber vulnerabilities are in order to prevent them.”
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