So as I was saying, breaches aren’t down in 2010.
Almost twice as many financial services companies suffered information theft, loss or attack in the past 12 months than in the previous year, according to a new conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and security company Kroll.
The report found that 42% of financial services companies surveyed have suffered data loss in the past year, compared to 24% in the previous survey. This was a greater a proportion than in any other sector.
Across all sectors the incidence of information theft, loss or attack rose from 18% in 2009 to 27.3% in 2010.
Source: Information Age.
Related: Global Fraud Report 2010/2011 – Kroll. From the introduction to their report:
Four important themes emerge:
- Theft of information and electronic data overtakes physical theft for the first time as the most frequently reported fraud.
- Fear of fraud is dissuading 48% of companies from operating in other countries. China and Africa are the geographies most affected, with corruption identified as the greatest concern.
- Companies appear unprepared for heightened Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement and the impact of the UK Bribery Act. For example, only one third of respondents with a presence in the United States or United Kingdom felt the laws applied to them.
- Fraud is largely an inside job across all geographies and industries. Some 44% of respondents attributed fraud to employees and a further 11% identified agents or intermediaries as the key perpetrators.
This year we analyze for the first time fraud losses as a percentage of income. There is cause for concern: fraudsters’ take from business increased 20% in the last 12 months. Almost 90% of respondents report
being victims of fraud – similar to last year’s survey results.