In its Global Fraud Report, Kroll said a survey of 800 executives revealed that information theft was the most reported form of fraud, with a total of 27.3% of respondents reporting an incident of information theft in the past 12 months, compared to 18% reporting information theft in the past 12 months in 2009. By comparison, reports of physical asset theft were lower, at just 27.2% in the past 12 months.
Kroll surveyed 800 senior executives in companies with a global presence through the Economist Intelligence Unit in July and August 2010. The survey covered executives in a wide range of vertical markets, including financial services, retail, professional services, technology, media and so on. About 47% were C-level executives, and the majority of respondents worked at companies with annual revenues of more than $500 million. About 30% came from North America, a quarter came from Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and 11% from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
The information theft was especially targeted at information-focused verticals, including financial services, technology, professional services, as well as media and telecommunications, according to the survey. Forty-two percent of financial services companies surveyed by Kroll reported information theft, loss or attacks in the past 12 months, compared to just 24 percent in 2009. The number was 40% for professional services firms, up 27% from last year.
Poorly protected technology assets are singled out as a contributing factor to the growth of the information theft problem.
"Poorly defended technology is becoming easier for fraudsters to exploit with more and more advanced self-sourced tools, ranging from sophisticated hacking to a simple unit of memory," the report concluded.
Identity theft attacks were a major source of concern, with 20 percent of respondents mentioning it, as well as "an increase in the use of technology" or the so-called 'IT consumer' as the two most common elements of fraud that led to information theft.
Fears among businesses about information theft are based on this year's increased investments in information technology, with 48% of respondents mentioning that they will increase their investment in security and anti-fraud technologies.
One more point to worry about, especially for developing countries, however is what companies are not going to do, for example: expand operations in countries where there are high risks to corruption, information theft or intellectual property theft. According to Kroll's survey, 33% of respondents cited fears of information theft as a factor in deterring them from doing business in China. Concerns about intellectual property theft prevented 23% of respondents from doing business in that country.
Source: Threat Post
