Cybercrime and Security: Emerging Challenges for the Businesses of the Future

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in cybercrime incidents, with increasingly sophisticated threats endangering the financial security of businesses. This article explores the concept of cybercrime and the crucial role of banks in protecting their clients' financial interests. We will analyze emerging threats, the main cybercrimes targeting businesses, and defence strategies for companies.

WHAT IS CYBERCRIME?
 

Cybercrime refers to a broad range of criminal activities involving the use of computer technology for illegal purposes. These activities may include cyberattacks, financial fraud, corporate phishing, and much more. Cybercrime can have severe consequences for businesses, resulting in financial losses, reputational damage, and service disruptions.

THE MAIN CYBERCRIMES TARGETING BUSINESSES

Businesses can fall victim to a variety of cybercrimes, including:

• Ransomware Attacks: This type of attack locks access to corporate IT systems by encrypting critical operational data. The attackers then demand payment, often in cryptocurrencies, to provide the decryption key needed to restore access. Such attacks can cause significant operational disruptions, financial losses, and reputational damage.
• Financial Scams: These scams aim to steal money or illicitly obtain funds from businesses. Fraudsters manipulate individuals to issue payment orders that transfer funds to fraudulent bank accounts. Financial scams can result in significant monetary losses and severely harm a company's reputation.
• Deepfake Attacks: These attacks leverage advanced technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, to create fake content for fraudulent or manipulative purposes. For example, they can mimic a person’s voice, facial expressions, or body movements to create fake video or audio communications. This manipulated content can spread false information or damage a company’s reputation, leading to significant public image damage and financial losses.
• Phishing: A type of cyberattack in which attackers obtain personal data, such as login credentials or financial information, through deceptive communications. The goal is to collect sensitive information (user IDs, passwords, credit card numbers, PINs, etc.) by sending fake emails. These emails appear to come from trusted sources and are designed to convince recipients to open attachments or click on links to access confidential information. This data can be used for further attacks or fraud, putting a company’s financial security at risk.
• Spamming: Involves the mass distribution of unsolicited emails, often containing malware or fraudulent links. These messages may be designed to spread computer viruses or steal sensitive corporate information. Exposure to such threats can compromise data security and, consequently, the financial stability of the company.
• DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Attacks: DDoS attacks are designed to render business services inaccessible by overloading them with illegitimate traffic. These attacks can disrupt online services, prevent customers from accessing them, or delay business operations. This can result in financial losses and damage to the company's reputation.
  

SCAMS TARGETING COMPANIES
 

In the digital era, companies are increasingly exposed to a variety of highly insidious and harmful cyber threats and financial scams. These scams exploit trust and vulnerability, aiming to fraudulently obtain money, confidential information, or access to corporate IT systems. Below, we explore the most common types of scams, the risks they pose to businesses, and the preventive measures that can be adopted to protect against such threats.

CEO Fraud
 

This type of scam involves criminals posing as corporate executives, such as CEOs or CFOs, to deceive employees. Typically, fraudsters send fake emails or use other means of communication to request money transfers, solicit confidential information, or authorize financial transactions. These communications often appear authentic because fraudsters frequently use spoofing techniques (where an unknown sender pretends to be a trusted one) or hacking to falsify email addresses or online identities of corporate executives.

With the advent of generative artificial intelligence, attacks have become even more sophisticated. Criminals increasingly use deepfake techniques to impersonate authority figures within a company, inducing victims—driven by trust and urgency—to take specific harmful actions. Victims may be tricked into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts, disclosing confidential information, or performing other actions that can lead to significant financial losses and reputational damage for the company.

Invoice Fraud

Invoice fraud involves sending fraudulent or manipulated invoices to businesses, presented as if from legitimate suppliers or contractors. Fraudsters may create fake documents or alter existing ones to inflate costs, change payment details, or provide fraudulent bank account numbers. Businesses may unknowingly pay for goods or services that were never provided or overcharged. This type of scam can result in considerable financial losses, harm relationships with suppliers, and damage the company’s reputation.

Tech Support Scam

In this scam, criminals pose as IT technicians to convince clients to share information or download programs or applications that allow the fraudster to access the client’s devices remotely. This scam can cause financial losses, reputational damage, and compromise the company’s data security.

Fake Agent Scam

Here, the fraudster impersonates a representative of law enforcement or the bank's fraud department to convince the client to make transactions via online banking or visit a branch to make urgent or instant transfers to fraudster-controlled accounts, supposedly to “secure” their savings.

IBAN Switch Scam

Fraudsters trick clients into installing apps, clicking on links, or opening malicious attachments containing malware that infects their devices. By gaining remote control of the device, the fraudster alters the IBANs of transactions being made by the client.

HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST CYBERATTACKS

To defend against cyberattacks, businesses must adopt a series of preventive measures and robust security practices, starting with technological solutions. For instance, all companies should:

• Invest in advanced cybersecurity systems, such as firewalls, antivirus, and antispyware software, to protect systems and networks from intrusions and malware.
• Keep all corporate software and operating systems updated with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities.
• Implement strict access and authorization policies, such as multi-factor authentication, to ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive data and critical systems.
• Have a well-defined incident response plan with procedures for managing and recovering from security breaches to minimize the impact and losses caused by cyberattacks.

In addition to adopting specific technological measures, it is crucial to invest in employee training to increase awareness of digital risks and threats. According to the IBM Cybersecurity Intelligence Index, 82% of attacks are caused by inappropriate behaviour triggered by human error. Therefore, investing in employee training is essential: staff should be educated to recognize and manage cyber threats, identify potential risks, and neutralize attacks before they occur.

CYBERCRIME: BANKING TOOLS TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES

To effectively protect themselves against cyber threats, businesses must work with partners that share the same sensitivity and maturity regarding cybersecurity, ensuring a secure value chain. Banks are no exception.

This is only possible if businesses maintain constant vigilance against scams and cyber fraud. Banks can be valuable allies in this effort through awareness initiatives that educate clients about potential risks.

Banks are required to ensure high-security standards with procedures that comply with the most advanced cybersecurity regulations. They often inform clients about cybersecurity to educate them on protecting themselves and their organizations from potential risks.

Examples of this include:

• Cybersecurity courses for clients to update them on financial risks and data protection.
• Up-to-date information is provided on websites and client materials.
• Advanced banking platforms and services that ensure security and protection for corporate financial transactions, including multi-factor authentication systems and continuous monitoring of suspicious activities. One clear example is Inbiz, Intesa Sanpaolo's Corporate Internet Banking portal, which reflects the bank’s commitment to securing its platforms and, consequently, the clients who use them daily.
   

Cybercrime represents an increasingly widespread and dangerous threat to today’s businesses. Implementing cutting-edge technological solutions, partnering with entities equally focused on cybersecurity, and dedicating time to employee training on fraud and cyber scams can make a significant difference in effectively protecting a company.

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