As the Internet goes mobile and global at an ever increasing pace, the fraudsters remain a step ahead. Basset Telecom’s recent fraud report (PDF) highlights some of the threats and provides advice on how to fight back.
Providing inter-carrier BSS solutions for over 70 customers, Basset has been advising on the billion-dollar fraud threat for a number of years. Basset is in particular aware that the risk increases as the mobile and banking worlds come together. A trail of money always attracts the bad guys.
With such potentially damaging threats – more 6,000 new software vulnerabilities that could be used by criminals, 260,000 personal details taken in every corporate attack and increasing number of ‘zero day’ vulnerabilities that first turn up in malware – the need for a robust defense is vital.
Often the most damaging part of a fraudulent attack is the loss of trust by customers and this should be at the heart of a fraud policy, Basset says.
An effective fraud policy is vital and is not just for the IT department. The policy must come from the top and must make use of a real time intelligence network. A company must have a true overview of the usage and applications being used (CP: Hacker deciphers mobile traffic; is alarm or thanks the appropriate response?); access to contextual information that combines revenue assurance and fraud techniques; extensive analysis tools for pattern detection; active testing processes and a layered approach to protection.
Responsibility for fraud goes beyond company boundaries. Agreements between telcos should include real time fraud prevention techniques against a common enemy.