In almost two decades of practicing insurance, there has never been a more common threat to businesses of every size and type than the threat posed by cyber crime and hacking. It is often difficult to provide advice to business owners that can be deemed universal, or can apply equally to any kind of operation. This is not the case with issues of cyber liability, and exposure to financial crime. And the most pervasive of all types of cyber crime is the category of “spoofing” or “social engineering.” This article explains these terms, and provides practical advice on how every business owner needs to respond immediately. First, let’s define the term “spoofing,” as it is applied to cyber-crime. Spoofing is a type of cyber crime where someone pretends to be a trusted person or source, and this causes the victim to disburse funds to an unintended source. In spoofing events, a cyber criminal can create an email address that looks similar but not the same as the correct email, with the swap of as little as a single character. A spoofer can also visually create an email signature line that is identical to the trusted source. Spoofers can use these fake identities to request that payroll or other fund transfers use different accounts – their accounts. Just like that – your money is GONE. What makes this worse is that it is not the standard definition of theft, since you or your staff member moved the money as a purposeful act. Read More |
