Weekly Watch April 22-26, 2019

In the Spotlight This Week

Two really interesting reports dropped this week. First, the FBI released its annual Internet Crime Report. In the report, the FBI notes that there was a major increase in Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, resulting in 20,000 victims and $1.3 billion in financial losses. Confidence fraud/romance scams and investment cybercrime rank second and third, resulting in losses of $362 million and $253 million respectively. The report also shows that older individuals are more often victimized, with users over 50 losing a reported $1.14 in 2018.

For more information:
FBI 2018 Internet Crime Report (full report)
Cybercrime's Total Earnings Skyrocketed to $2.7 Billion Says the FBI

Speaking of the most susceptible victims of cybercrime, the University of California, Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity released a paper on “Improving Cybersecurity Awareness in Underserved Populations.” Author Ahmad Sultan argues that the cybersecurity gap is a new digital divide that greatly influences who is most likely to be victimized. The report includes some surprising revelations, such as 20% of the sample group were not aware of the existence of online crime, 21% knew nothing about spam emails, and 31% did not know about anti-virus software. Sultan hopes that this report will encourage city leaders to promote targeted cybersecurity awareness and training to these populations.

For more information:
Improving Cybersecurity Awareness in Underserved Populations (full report)
Underserved Populations Unaware of Cybersecurity Risks

REN-ISAC

Weekly Watch April 22-26, 2019

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In the Spotlight This Week

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