Cyber Defense eMagazine August 2019

Is Your Organization Driving the Getaway Car for
Cybercriminals?
A Reality Check on Ethics and Technology to Thwart Data Breaches and Fraud
By Simon Marchand, Chief Fraud Prevention Officer for Nuance Communications
3.6 trillion – that's the dollar amount that fraud costs the global economy each year. Let that sink in for a
minute: $3.6 trillion.
Odds are you can name any industry, and it’s been affected by a data breach. In fact, some of the largest
data breaches in 2019 have included everything from a fast food chain and large-scale retailer to a global
car manufacturer and an IT outsourcing and consulting giant. Bottom line: Every organization is a target,
with the potential for major negative, headline-grabbing fallout.
And although the case for why companies should protect their data is clear—companies lose less money
and customer information is kept safe from predators—what’s not often addressed are some of the more
disconcerting aspects of data breaches. Namely the ethics of allowing that ‘target’ status morph into a
‘win’ for cybercriminals.
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