Internal ATM cash theft: The toughest temptation

From ATM Marketplace –
“Statistics on the volume and nature of ATM crime are extensive and make for fascinating, if unpleasant, reading. A significant proportion is carried out by individuals involved in the storage, transport, handling and dispensing of cash. This type of crime is not so much overlooked as it is underreported — for reasons that are perhaps understandable.

How can we better design ATMs and their security systems to reduce the opportunity for internal theft and make it less rewarding?”

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Cyber bank robbers steal $1bn, says Kaspersky report

From BBC Business News –

“Up to 100 banks and financial institutions worldwide have been attacked in an "unprecedented cyber robbery", claims a new report.

Computer security firm Kaspersky Lab estimates $1bn (£648m) has been stolen in the attacks, which it says started in 2013 and are still ongoing.

A cybercriminal gang with members from Russia, Ukraine and China is responsible, it said.

Kaspersky said it worked with Interpol and Europol on the investigation.

It said the attacks had taken place in 30 countries including financial firms in Russia, US, Germany, China, Ukraine and Canada.

"These attacks again underline the fact that criminals will exploit any vulnerability in any system," said Sanjay Virmani, director of Interpol's digital crime centre.”

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BitCon: The Naked Truth About Bitcoin - Jeffrey Robinson's Teardown of World's Biggest Cryptocurrency

From International Business Times

“Jeffrey Robinson has written extensively about financial crime. His 1995 book on money laundering, The Laundrymen, was a best seller; in other books he has flagged up the sort of financial risk-taking that led to the financial crash more than a decade before it happened.

It's a pedigree that steers his focus toward the alleged scheming, manipulation and criminal intent that have been attached to bitcoin during its short, turbulent history.

Near the beginning of his exposition, Robinson admits the blockchain technology behind bitcoin "happens to be brilliant". Apparently he has a soft spot for Satoshi Nakamoto (he lays into Newsweek at some length for its "shoddy" attempt to reveal the bitcoin founder's identity). But the main thread of his book is a sustained stream of argument and invective directed at what he calls the bitcoin "Faithful".”

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Fighting the Globalization of Cybercrime

From Bank Info Security

“"Cybercrime as a service" and the globalization of attacks are two of the trends noted by cyber-intelligence firm Group-IB in its third annual High-Tech Crime Report. Now, security firms and law enforcement agencies throughout the world are focused on capturing the leaders behind the organized crime groups believed to be pushing these trends, says Alexander Tushkanov, who leads content protection for Moscow-based Group IB.”

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'Electronic pickpocketing' looms as next threat in credit card fraud, police, security experts say

From ABC News

“Identity theft doubled from 2012 to 2013 and police are concerned about "electronic pickpocketing" as organised criminals get smarter and take advantage of weaknesses in Australians' defences.

A study by financial security firm Veda shows credit application fraud is at its highest level since 2009 in Australia, and the company says the main reason is the growing technical skill and innovation of organised criminals.

Queensland fraud and cybercrime detective Brian Hay shares that view, and has warned the ABC that identity thieves may exploit contactless credit card technology in order to wirelessly pick people's pockets.’

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Bitcoin crime surges

From Gadget

“A recent Kaspersky Lab study has revealed that financial malware targeting Bitcoin increased 2.5 times in 2013 and accounted for 8.3-million incidents.

According to the ‘Financial cyber threats in 2013’ study carried out by Kaspersky Lab, financial malware targeting Bitcoin became extremely popular in 2013. The number of attacks targeting the crypto-currency increased more than 2.5 times and accounted for 8.3 million incidents.

Bitcoin was created especially for making anonymous e-payments and has become extremely popular over the last few years. In early 2013, the Bitcoin exchange rate was $13.6. By December it reached a record peak, exceeding $1,200. During the year several slumps occurred, but since April 2013 the price of a single virtual coin has not dropped below $80. This inevitably attracted the attention of fraudsters. Adding to the problem, Bitcoins are often easy prey for cybercriminals: if users store Bitcoins on their computers in an unencrypted form, attackers only need to steal the wallet file to get information about the “coins” within and access the victim’s account.”

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