PASA Cybercrime & Fraud Working Group Update

PASA issued new guidance on cybercrime protection towards the end of last year, but the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show the importance of this guidance being implemented.

Released this week, they reveal for the 12 months ending September 2020 there were 1,679,000 incidents of cybercrime. This compares with 876,000 cybercrime incidents in the 12 months ending March 2020. Post-COVID there has been a 91.7% increase in cybercrime.

These shocking increases are some of the sharpest ever recorded for any type of crime.

The latest manifestations of cybercrime include:

• An increase in the number of fake websites being set up;
• Cybercrime as a Service (‘CAAS’) becoming more prevalent (where cybercriminals are ‘hired’ to attack an organisation with a ‘menu’ of prices and types of attack); and
• The use of Artificial Intelligence to target vulnerabilities and vulnerable organisations, so the cybercrime businesses can make what they do as efficient and profitable as possible.

Every administrator should make sure (1) they are as well protected as possible (2) they are able to ‘manage’ an attack if one happens and (3) they are able to respond, investigate what has happened and mitigate any damage. You can download PASA’s guidance here.