MailGuard Blog

Does defeating cybercriminals mean we need to try thinking like they do?

The kind of people who commit cybercrime aren’t CEO material. They aren’t even necessarily the I.T. whiz or hacker type; cybercrime doesn’t require a serious technical skill set. The crooks behind online fraud attacks are using technology, certainly, but they are consumers, not experts.

You have your solicitor look over contracts before they’re signed.
Your accountant examines your books to find any irregularities.
There are checks and balances in place to monitor purchases, invoicing, payroll and transactions of every kind.
You’re confident that your company’s financial integrity is well protected, but what about the online realm?

There’s a lot about online crime that’s ambiguous and confusing, but the damage it’s doing is all too clear. Recent research figures released by the FBI and reports from independent cybersecurity experts estimate that the damage bill from cybercrime in 2018 will reach more than US$12 billion dollars.

‘Alone we will fail,’ was the message from Alastair MacGibbon, Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre and keynote speaker at MailGuard’s2018 Cybersecurity Awareness Luncheon.

On Tuesday 6 March, MailGuard collaborated with PWC and Microsoft to bring together CEOs and cybersecurity experts in a forum focussed on the rise of cybercrime and the challenges it presents for business.

Cybercrime and data-security are a growing challenge here in Australia. The Australian Government recently published figures estimating that cybercrime costs our economy about AU$1 billion annually and if the international trends are anything to go by, that figure will be growing rapidly over the next few years.

These are interesting times to be in business. The fastest pace of industrial development in history. Huge opportunities. Huge risks. An economic environment that rewards innovation but is also incredibly volatile.

“During the holiday season, it's easy to forget that sometimes the best gift of all is simply the gift of time.” - Kate Klise - author and journalist.

I’ve just come back from a holiday break with my family. It was a welcome opportunity to focus on my loved ones, but it also gave me some time for reflection.

One of the biggest challenges we face dealing with cybersecurity is the way it’s perceived as an IT issue. The reality is that cybercrime exploits gaps in security at every level. Criminals use every means available to them to penetrate a company’s defences: telephone calls; fake documents; and identity theft.

There’s a striking cybercrime case in the headlines this week involving email fraud.

John Kahlbetzer - one of the richest people in Australia according to Forbes - lost AU$1 million in a scam that was as simple as it was effective.

The shocking news about Uber’s data breach woes just keeps on coming. After reading Stephen Little’s Independent article ‘Uber data leak hit 2.7m UK customers’ I felt compelled to break my silence on this issue.

I don’t like to heap criticism on an already embattled company, but the latest revelations about Uber’s unethical behaviour has made them fair game for critique, I think. Uber’s handling of their ongoing cybercrime crisis has landed them in a situation where they are now dealing with a legal battle and a public relations meltdown as well.

Here's a roundup of this weeks articles on the MailGuard Blog. It's been a busy week here, especially for our CEO Craig McDonald, who managed to fit a mentoring workshop and a leadership interview with Prof. Gary Martin into his schedule...

I’ve received a number of messages on LinkedIn over the last 24 hours that rang alarm bells. At first glance they looked like ordinary notes from my contacts, but then I noticed they were all asking me to click on an unfamiliar link

Free Webinar from Microsoft

Cybercrime is impacting 9 out of 10 businesses. According to a recent study by PwC, it is the number one economic crime in Australia, and number two globally. This is a risk management challenge of huge proportions.

An Interview with Prof. Gary Martin of AIM WA

I recently spoke at a leadership forum organised by the Australian Institute of Management, Western Australia (AIM WA). In my talk, I invited the audience to consider the real and immediate threat that cybercrime poses to business, not only in terms of potential losses but at the level where it can be a threat to a company’s very existence.

Following-up on the AIM WA forum I interviewed Professor Gary Martin. Gary is CEO and Executive Director of AIM WA, and is hands-on in making their forums happen.

The most profitable time of year for retailers is right now - between the North American ‘Thanksgiving’ and new-year. When business is booming, cybercriminals are busy too. The holiday season creates a perfect storm for criminals. Retail companies are doing billions in transactions and during the silly season there’s more work to do during the same hours. Everyone is overworked and under pressure, which is the perfect environment for scams to be executed.