UK businesses are failing to report cyber fraud and attacks
because they are afraid police will take away their computers to
investigate the attack, causing them to lose more business than the
e-crime itself.
But
Detective
Chief Superintendent Chris Corcoran, divisional commander for
the Crime Services Division of North Wales Police and chair of the
e-Crime Wales Steering Group, says such fears are unfounded.
"We just go in and take an image of all the data to carry out
our investigations. The computers stay where they are and it is
business as usual," says Corcoran, who is speaking at the
e-Crime
Wales Summit, Llandudno on 21 October.
Business e-crime reporting is not as high as it could be because
companies are afraid of losing customers if it is widely known
their security has been breached.
"We can assure them that our e-crime investigations are carried
out quietly and covertly. It is about trust and confidence."
Corcoran expects the formation of a national centre for
coordinating cyber fraud reporting next year to aid in the
investigation and prosecution of cybercriminals.
Greater liaison with European e-crime bodies such as Europol and
Interpol will also help raise the detection and prosecution
rate.
But Corcoran's biggest concern is to get local businesses to
report e-Crime events. To facilitate this, the e-Crime Wales
website has set up an easy-to-use e-crime reporting system.
"We are always looking at ways to record e-crimes and establish
early warning systems to track down criminals," he says.
About 400 Welsh businesses are expected to attend the fifth
annual one-day e-Crime Summit. The Welsh Assembly Government has a
partnership approach between the information security industry, law
enforcement agencies and Welsh businesses.