Banks review security measures as cyber crime menace grows

Criminals are getting more sophisticated, warn SA's major banks, as they pilot debit-order system DebiCheck to fight SIM-swap fraud

SA’s major banks are reviewing their online security measures to combat increasingly sophisticated cyber crime.

Absa,  which recently had to refund one of its clients the R3.1m   stolen from his account as a result of SIM-swap fraud,  says this is just an isolated incident.

Cryptojacking Overtakes Ransomware as Top Malware in Some Countries

Cryptojacking, the unauthorized use of another’s hardware to mine cryptocurrency, has become the biggest cyber threat in many parts of the world, Bloomberg reported Dec. 14.

According to research from cyber security research firm Kaspersky Lab, cryptojacking overtook ransomware as the biggest cybersecurity threat particularly in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. In Afghanistan and Ethiopia over one out of four detected malware are cryptocurrency miners, according to Kaspersky’s data.

As cited by the Bloomberg, Kaspersky’s research “shows crypto mining attacks have risen almost fourfold in the region, from 3.5 million in 2017 to 13 million this year.” The cybersecurity firm reportedly also claimed that cryptojacking incidents are “likely to continue given the increased use of digital currencies.”

Where you're most likely to get cyber-scammed in the UK, revealed

Cyber criminals are targeting people who live in major cities, with London and Birmingham residents most at risk, says a new report. 

According to Barclays’ Digital Safety Index survey, 23 per cent of people living in the capital and 23 per cent of people living in Birmingham have been affected by at least one scam.

The report adds that 28 per cent of London residents and the same proportion of people who live in Bristol have experienced at least one type of online fraud, where the target’s details have been compromised and the perpetrator has completed the transaction.

Majority of Cybercrime Damage is Caused by a Few, Powerful, Covert Criminal Threat Groups

A small subset of professional criminal actors is responsible for the bulk of cybercrime-related damage, employing tools and techniques as sophisticated, targeted and insidious as most nation-state actors, says the State of Cybercrime Report 2018.

These sophisticated and capable criminal gangs operate largely outside of the dark web, although they may leverage low-level criminal tools occasionally when it serves their purposes.

At the same time, there has been no lull in the overall volume of threats, and low-level cybercriminal activity remains a robust market economy, often taking place in view of security researchers and law enforcement on the dark web, the report notes. While relatively simple in their approach, these activities can still deal widespread damage.

Where you're most likely to get cyber-scammed in the UK, revealed

Cyber criminals are targeting people who live in major cities, with London and Birmingham residents most at risk, says a new report.

According to Barclays’ Digital Safety Index survey, 23 per cent of people living in the capital and 23 per cent of people living in Birmingham have been affected by at least one scam (table below).

The report adds that 28 per cent of London residents and the same proportion of people who live in Bristol have experienced at least one type of online fraud, where the target’s details have been compromised and the perpetrator has completed the transaction (table below).

Liverpool shares top place with these cities for impersonation scams.

New Report Shows Indian Kids are the Most Cyberbullied in The World

The Internet has brought with it a plethora of problems that were previously unheard of when things like computer and social media did not exist. One such problem is 'cyberbullying', the act of bullying individuals online. It is essentially the same as bullying outside of social media, except perhaps the threat to physical safety. But unlike the classical schoolyard bully, a cyber bully has an added advantage - anonymity.

According to data compiled by Ipsos International, who surveyed adults in 28 countries under a survey called the 'Global Advisor Study' in June this year to find out about the incidence of cyberbullying, a majority of parents reported that their children were victims of online bullying at some point in their lives or the other. And topping the list of countries with the most number of reported cases of cyber-bullying is none other than India.

An analysis of the data showed that in that in the last two years, more and more children and teenagers were bullied online. While 32 percent of parents had reported that their children had faced cyber-bullying in 2016, the statistic rose to 37 percent in 2018.

Karnataka Top Cop Falls Prey to Cyber Crime, Loses Rs 2 Lakh After Sharing Bank Details With Crooks

Bengaluru: In a major embarrassment to the state police department, the Internal Security Division (ISD) chief Ashit Mohan Prasad fell prey to internet fraudsters who made away Rs 2 lakh after taking debit card details from him in just one hour.

Prasad is one of the seniormost officers in the State and is currently serving the top rank of Director General of Police. According to the the complaint lodged with Cyber Crime Wing of Criminal Investigation Department, at around 3pm on Monday, Prasad received two phone calls wherein the callers identified themselves as bank officials.