Security News
Accenture has entered into an agreement to acquire Exton Consulting, a French consulting firm providing strategy and business management support to financial services clients across Europe. The team of approximately 150 highly skilled professionals would join Accenture's Financial Services industry group and strengthen its ability to offer innovative end-to-end solutions to a broader range of financial services companies, covering all aspects of their transformation projects including strategy, design, technology, and operations.
In May 2019, KrebsOnSecurity broke the news that the website of mortgage settlement giant First American Financial Corp. [NYSE:FAF] was leaking more than 800 million documents - many containing sensitive financial data - related to real estate transactions dating back 16 years. According to data from the American Land Title Association, First American is the second largest mortgage title and settlement company in the United States, handling nearly a quarter of all closings each year.
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for biometrics for banking and financial services estimated at $4.4 billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $8.9 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% over the analysis period, according to Global Industry Analysts. This segment currently accounts for a 22.8% share of the global biometrics for banking and financial services market.
Amid an exponential increase in online fraud, an INTERPOL-coordinated operation codenamed HAECHI-I mobilized more than 40 specialized law enforcement officers across the Asia Pacific region. Officially concluding last week, Operation HAECHI-I focused particularly on five types of online financial crime: investment fraud, romance scams, money laundering associated with illegal online gambling, online sextortion and voice phishing.
The first report, detailing desktop attacks, found that cryptomining malware has exploded in popularity, while the second report covering mobile devices, revealed that a popular Trojan targeting gamers has made the leap from PC to Android. Between February and March 2021, during which time the price of a single bitcoin increased by more than $10,000, the number of modified cryptomining malware found by Kaspersky experienced a similar jump with a fourfold increase over the course of the same time period.
The Interpol has intercepted $83 million belonging to victims of online financial crime from being transferred to the accounts of their attackers. Between September 2020 and March 2021, law enforcement focused on battling five types of online financial crimes: investment fraud, romance scams, money laundering associated with illegal online gambling, online sextortion, and voice phishing.
Contrast Security announced the findings of a report based on a comprehensive survey of development, operations, and security professionals and executives at enterprise-level financial services institutions. The report explores the state of application security at these organizations, and the findings indicate that the security of these applications - that have access and control over consumers' finances - is not a priority or major concern for most of them.
Nearly 30 percent of people who contact the Identity Theft Resource Center are victims of more than one identity crime. Their latest study covers the 36 months from 2018-2020 and goes beyond the known financial implications of identity crimes and explores the emotional, physical and psychological impacts experienced by victims.
Securiti announced Securiti for Workday which enables Sensitive Data Intelligence driven Security, PrivacyOps, Governance and Compliance for sensitive employee and financial data in Workday. Securiti's platform uniquely integrates Sensitive Data Intelligence with Data Security and PrivacyOps automation to allow organizations to address security and privacy requirements accurately and cost-effectively.
U.S. insurance giant CNA Financial reportedly paid $40 million to a ransomware gang to recover access to its systems following an attack in March, making it one the most expensive ransoms paid to date. CNA Financial's $40 million ransom only shows that 2021 continues to be a great year for ransomware, potentially emboldening cybercriminal gangs to seek bigger payouts and advance their illicit aims.