Out With the Old, In With New Threats: Predictions for 2015

December 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

— New Year, New Problems: 2015’s Crystal Ball of Fraud
— Using Technology To Track Cyber-Criminals

GREETINGS!

Welcome to the December edition of our newsletter! In this issue, we’ll look at emerging trends in fraud activity as 2014 comes to a close.

NEW YEAR, NEW PROBLEMS: 2015’S CRYSTAL BALL OF FRAUD

2014 saw various computer-assisted fraud issues emerge, from the anonymity of networks like Tor (and the illicit transactions such a network can allow) to the rise, and perhaps the fall, of the quasi-currency Bitcoin. 2015 appears likely to continue a trend toward computing-dominated fraud perpetration — and an effort toward increased computer-assisted fraud prevention.

Along with data breaches at major banks and retailers, the use of increasingly complex data structures and systems to commit fraud was a major headline in 2014. While the sophistication of these networks poses a certain challenge to fraud investigators, the data often left behind during the transaction can present an opportunity to follow cyber-criminals and ultimately build a case against them using traditional fraud prosecution methods.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK CYBER-CRIMINALS

While cyber-thieves pride themselves on using devices and methods seemingly beyond the grasp of most traditional investigators, their pride in such efforts can be their undoing. Using a specific username while making a transaction from one Bitcoin wallet to another, for example, can be a way to unmask the parties involved — many people tend to adopt one (or at most a few) moniker in their online life, and that psychological tendency can trump technological anonymity if that person uses the same “handle” on social networking sites, chat rooms, and anywhere they might divulge valuable details about themselves.

While it is likely true that law enforcement and regulators cannot out-regulate human ingenuity, that same ingenuity can be used to find emerging threats, collect necessary evidence and bring those responsible to account. As threats evolve, so too do the methods of confronting them, and this is likely to be a growing trend not just in 2015 but for many years to come. Happy New Year!