in the contemporary business environment
The spread of computers and networking revolutionized the business world and simplified life for many people. Unfortunately, computers also contributed to an increase in fraud, which results in severe financial losses for businesses and individuals alike. Estimates suggest that U.S. computer fraud in the late 1990s amounted to $10 billion per year in losses. Computer thieves are not content to steal small amounts of money at a time, either. The typical bank robber averages $6,100 a heist; electronic thieves average over $100,000 per incident.
Perhaps most significant is the extent to which computer fraud permeates contemporary business and government systems. Some studies suggest that upwards of 90 percent of all major corporations (e.g., Fortune 500) have been targets of computer fraud, as have numerous U.S. government agencies—including the Department of Defense. The vast majority of these cases have resulted in some financial losses to the target organization. This high percentage apparently stems in part from the fact most computer crimes—up to 85 percent according to some studies—are committed by insiders like employees and contractors. However, some analysts believe that this high rate is artificially inflated because internal breaches are the easiest to catch.
and fraud The amount of fraud has
been rising in most organizations over the last five years and, more worrying,
it is expected to continue to rise. A significant factor behind this rise is the
increasing involvement of technology, and in particular computers, as an integrated
element of the business process. Whilst the image promoted by the media of computer
"hackers" as a major source of fraud may be unfounded, fraud is becoming
increasingly technically orientated, with fraudsters turning technologies designed
as business tools to dishonest ends. In particular, the use of computers brings
the matter of speed into the equation, affording the fraudster with the opportunity
to exploit weaknesses in the controls in new systems over ever shorter time scales,
as well as means by which to put money out of reach of the victim more quickly
than was previously possible, and with less risk of being personally identified
Trends in fraudulent
practice As well as shifts in the
tools and methods of fraud, there are significant changes in the fraudsters themselves.
These changes are characterized by:
increase in fraud committed by staff
decline in the notion of a job "for life" has left many employees feeling
uncertain of what their futures hold, resulting in a reduction in morale and loyalty.
increase in fraud involving collusion
business process become ever more complex, fraudsters have found that teamwork
minimizes the chance of being caught. As a result of this trend, some frauds remain
undetected for longer and result in larger losses for the victims.
Increased involvement from organized crime
many cases, criminal organizations may collude with a member of staff, who in
some cases is a deliberate plant.
result of these trends is the drive for ever more powerful technical tools which
can circumvent many of the tradition problems in fraud detection, if not identifying
the opportunities for fraud before the fraudsters do so, then detecting the fraud
with such speed that losses may be avoided or recovered. Such technologies have
the further advantage of acting as a deterrent to fraudsters, by significantly
increasing the risk of their being caught.
and Detection Technologies Biometrics Biometrics, which provide a means by
which to identify an individual through the verification of unique physical or
behavioral characteristics, seems set to supersede the "Personal Identification
Number" (PIN) as a basis for the next generation of personal identity verification
systems. There are many type of biometrics systems under development.
Much has been written lately about speech recognition, speaker verification and
the idea of a computer being capable to recognize and identify a human voice.
Speech recognition is defined as the process of automatically recognizing what
word from a library of words is being said. On the other hand, speaker verification is the process of determining
which registered speaker provides a given utterance or "voiceprint".
This identification method called Biometric
Technology or Biometrics, is defined as the statistical analysis of biological
observations and human phenomena. We can examine and identify an individuals biometric
features such as fingerprints, retinal patterns, and facial features, but an individual's
speech pattern has more unique qualities and is often recognized as the most natural
form of biometrics. The human voice is also considered the most common form of
communication and is an ideal form of personal identification, because your voice
can never be lost, stolen or shared without your knowledge.