An intelligence led approach to addressing cyber fraud: Proactive fraud auditing

It is estimated the global cost of cybercrime will grow to US$2 trillion1 by 2019. With more than six billion2 connected devices comprising the Internet of Things, the attack surface is growing for cyber fraud, one of the many types of cybercrimes. As more companies digitise the way they conduct business more data than ever is available to be stolen and monetised. At the same time, adoption of the internet continues to rapidly increase globally, adding more users for hackers to target. There has also been a sharp increase in the availability and advancement of cyber-attack tools online, such as the sale of zero day vulnerabilities, the discovery of which more than doubled in 2015.3 Such explosive growth in cyber criminal activity demands a new approach to defending against it or companies may be faced with the difficult decision to go out of business if suffering a cyber attack that can cause bankruptcy, either through theft of funds, destruction of data or irreparable damage to reputation. Traditional network defense approaches have been one dimensional, relying on technology as the gate keeper, however the adversary today is not only advanced and persistent but highly adaptable, constantly learning how to overcome defensive measures. As a result organisations must also adapt, using an intelligence led approach to prepare for and defend against such attacks instead of constantly reacting to them.