Cybercrime in 2022 – be aware

AS we are all well aware, the economy – nationally and globally – took a devastating hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 and the restrictions that came with it.

As human beings are designed to adapt and survive, people may attempt to do so by turning to economic crimes, and as such there is a growing concern about the rise and growth of the “shadow economy”. Also known as the “underground economy”, this economy concerns illegal transactions and trades which go under the radar.

This drives the demand and supply of criminal conduct, mainly fraud/scams, the drug trade, human trafficking, illegal gambling, and money laundering. The demand and supply for such goods and services will rise in 2022 and the advent of new technologies will fuel this growth.

The main concerns for consumers are the people who prey on fear, hope and greed. Many of the reported scams are now mainly focused on exploiting the fear element (eg, the Macau scam), while investment scams will continue to exploit the hope and greed elements during uncertain times in the markets.

This is coupled with classic social engineering techniques (eg, phishing schemes) where people can be duped into providing sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) to bad actors who will then sell it or use it in fraudulent schemes. Data is the hottest commodity of the 21st century and data exploitation will continue to be the primary target of cybercriminals. Also, being isolated during the movement control order and work from home (WFH) arrangements would further benefit bad actors.

Corporations holding sensitive information will continue to be victimised as well. The rise of ransomware attacks since the beginning of the pandemic sees no sign of slowing down. The concern here is both system-based security and the awareness of staff WFH about maintaining proper “cyberhygiene” – ie, making sure they adopt basic security precautions online and practice diligence when accessing suspicious sites or downloading software or apps.

The shadow economy will be further promoted by new technologies and tools going forward. These include the anonymity provided by the “dark web”, transactions done using various e-wallets and cryptocurrency, and the exponential rise of the IoT (Internet of Things).

The dark web is a playground for cybercriminals, a place where online “consultants” offer illegal services, stolen PII is traded, and drugs and weapons are sold. The bad actors involved remain anonymous because of the nature of browsers used to surf the network.

E-wallets and cryptocurrency will continue to be the medium of exchange among those involved in the shadow economy. Being a decentralised mode of exchange, it will be tough for authorities to monitor illegal trade and money laundering activities.

While we have seen the IoT being promoted as part of the growth of technology, cybercriminals will continue to exploit legacy systems, unpatched software and other system- and human-based vulnerabilities to exploit sensitive devices which are bound together in a single network.

While we must acknowledge these dangers consumers face online in 2022, we must not forget that corporations will be struggling to survive, sustain their business and meet their required targets as well. This is a ripe environment for corporate executives to cook the books and hide losses to meet the expectations of the market. We must remain vigilant about fraudulent (including corruption) schemes that may be perpetrated in the corporate sector as we move out of a recession and recover as a nation and as global citizens.

RAYMON RAM

Certified fraud examiner (CFE), certified anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS),

Petaling Jaya