Remote Access Fraud / Scams – What Is The Impact To Victims?
An oft-repeated comment in the International IT industry underlies a huge problem that we all face – individuals, professionals, commercial entities, and the whole political system – we’re all at risk.
The saying goes something like this.
“ Once someone has had unauthorised access to your computer – it is no longer yours”
Consider some of the events we’ve seen around the world in the last few months:
- The Irish Healthcare system has been in disarray for the last 6 weeks following a ransomware attack. All computer systems were shut down. A ransom of $US20 mill was demanded and not paid.
- A similar situation occurred at the Waikato DHB here in NZ.
- The 7th Colonial Oil Pipeline, providing over 50% of oil to California, was shut down due to a cyber-attack. US$ 4.0 mill was demanded and paid.
- Solar Winds ( including US Govt sensitive data) were attacked by cybercriminals.
JBS (the biggest meatpacker in the world ) was attacked by cybercriminals. - Apple – attacked by cybercriminals.
- Joe Biden, in talks with Putin, identified 16 types of infrastructure against which he wanted to see no further cyber-attacks.
- China hackers penetrated America’s Office of Personnel Management and stole the personal details of over 21 million people.
- Sony Pictures, Mondalez Snack maker, and some Insurance companies have been attacked.
- In France, a firm lost US$5.5 billion in 2020 to cyber-crime.
- Allegations that China and Russia tried to interfere in the recent USA presidential election.
- Microsoft spent $124billion in 2020 on antivirus software, firewalls, etc.
- Website data breaches resulting in leaked user credentials.
And so it goes on and the list gets longer.
On not so large a scale, my wife and I have had our details hacked, and we have been forced to change passwords ( twice), get a new credit card, claim funds from organisations in NZ, Australia, and the USA, get refunded cash hacked from my NZ bank account, argue with 2 NZ based organisations about double charging for the same product/service. Be aware that these things are going on – check your bank account, check your credit card.
Electronic fraud is rife.
What can we do about it?
At a personal level, and at the SME level, we can take certain steps to reduce the risks of cyber-attacks. Here are some suggestions:
- It is estimated that about 90% of hacks are the result of ‘user error’ or preventable user mistakes – take advice on how to reduce this fertile ground for cyber fraud. A fraudster on the phone sounding legitimate, keeping passwords secret, risks around saving passwords in the browser etc, always secure your devices with a password
- Lack of security – never use the same passwords for multiple accounts
- Enable 2FA (multi or 2-Factor Authentication) – this can make it a lot more difficult for people to get access to your accounts
- Be very aware of the terms and conditions, when you buy an App. Be very certain about the details of terms and conditions of what you are downloading
- ALWAYS complete operating system updates
- Have the best possible back-ups for your data, which are physically separate from all your devices
- Use a password manager, make sure you have a strong password to access this, and make sure it autoloads itself
For further practical information on what is happening out there, how to spot the red flags, and ways to keep you and your banking safe, keep up to date on information from trusted and relevant websites.. particularly the details on the website of your Bank!
Robin Martin
P.S. This article is part of my Secrets of Success series, aimed at helping business owners and entrepreneurs with some of the key components of business success. The insights I wish I’d had at the start of my business career. I hope that by passing on these little gems of knowledge I can give you some support and help you along the pathway to growth and prosperity.
References
- TIME Magazine – 21st June
- The Economist – 19th June
- ANZ Bank – website
- The Computer Professor – Dave Shewan, Queenstown
