Cybercrime, a real threat to our online franchise – the approach

Cybercrime continues to show no signs of slowing down. In fact, 2011 marked a year of new advanced threats and an increased level of sophistication in the attacks witnessed around the globe. As we move into 2012, cybercrime is diverging down a different path as new financial malware variants emerge, cybercriminals find new ways to monetize non-financial data, and the rise of hacktivism-related attacks breathes new life into an old adversary. The top threats hitting the mind are

• Trojan Wars are there and Zeus is emerging as the Top Financial Malware. Zeus is responsible for around 80% of all attacks against financial institutions today and is estimated to have caused over $1 billion in global losses in the last five years.


• Cybercriminals are finding new ways to Monetize Non-Financial Data


• Fraud-as-a-service Vendors will Bring New Innovations


• Out-of-band Methods are forcing Cybercriminals to Innovate and intercept.


• The Rise of Hacktivism – Reputation damage by targeting bank as a whole in online world e.g. defacing sites

The Approach

Now the organizations have to gear up to counter such rising threats which require it to implement a solution which addresses security concerns

• By adopting a risk based authentication mechanism and


• Having the right information which can be shared to lead to Crackdowns on Cyber Gangs and Botnet Operators

In this context organizations need a dynamic and evolving solution to

• do device authentication


• do customer authentication


• build Real time monitoring of transactions capability extendable to all channels and core systems


• have a dynamic risk policy engine which can be applied to all systems without overburdening the customer


• cost effectively address the long term concerns

There are various ways to do so today and one of the best ways is to partner with a cyber security firm to advise, consult and implement a solution which is best, adaptive and value effective so as not to induce organization into investing money when the perceived/realised threat cost is still in nascent stage.

The cost of the solution needs to be looked from a long team perspective and not as a cost benefit approach to be able to inspire confidence not only among your customers in online world but to send a message across to all prospective customers, regulator and other stakeholders that organizations are looking to build a lifelong relationship and not merely a transaction relationship.

The author can be contacted over email, rajnishkhare@gmail.com, for feedback and comments