COMPANIES are failing to report online fraud due to a fear that their websites will be seen as unsecure and lead to a loss of sales, according to a new report.
It means that recorded internet crime represents the tip of the iceberg as a mere one in seven acts is reported, warns the Internet Crime Complaint Centre.
The IC3 annual report reveals Britain is now in second position with 15.3% of all reported
cyber-crime, behind the States but ahead of Nigeria (5.7%) and Romania (1.5%).
Online auction fraud, especially undelivered goods scams, accounts for a third of all recorded criminal acts on the net. But often consumers do not report a crime, out of embarrassment over being hoodwinked into parting with their money.
Microsoft's UK chief security adviser, ex-FBI senior investigator Ed Gibson, will issue a warning to corporate Scotland tomorrow that cybercrime is on the rise and that businesses should report a suspect illegal act.
Charles Scott, technical director of Edinburgh's Quorum Network Resources, said: "Unfortunately, security is still not viewed as a priority by the vast majority of small to medium-sized businesses. Often at best it's an afterthought, except for the wise businesses."
In Scotland Gibson will tell blue chip firms and SMEs – at separate private meetings – they should take extra steps to guard against becoming ensnared in white collar crime.
Gibson's visit helps tee off the software giant taking the unprecedented step of launching three mainline products in Scotland simultaneously on April 23.
Computer manufacturer Dell is co-sponsoring the triple launch. Latest Windows server, report-and-analysis platform and visual offerings will each carry with them enhanced in-built security applications.
Gibson says failure to be secure online means firms run the risk of losing out to money laundering, intellectual rights theft, asset tracing and other forms of financial crime.
Computer crime has moved into a different realm with virtual gangs organised by cell phone, and in classic Thomas Crown Affair style they will often have no knowledge of each other.
Yet they have the power and some the ambition to cripple, even bring down a company.
• COMPUTER scientists are working on a cyberspace-based system that will link up work-based tools such as e-mail, calendars and text messaging to quickly coordinate key people and their diaries.
Dr Stephan Reiff-Marganiec, lecturer in computer science at Leicester University and site leader of the EU-funded project known as inContext, said the system will automatically collect names of people who can attend a meeting, those that cannot attend, find experts in specific areas, and suggest alternative meeting times.
It will even send invitations to people on the device that they use: e-mail, or text messages to a mobile phone.
He said that normally trying to contact all the key people and make those arrangements may keep a secretary busy for the best part of several days.
The full article contains 496 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
