Commercial

For Heads of Risk, Heads of Fraud and Information Security Chiefs within global and multi-national organizations, responding to and protecting the organization from threats is not a new phenomenon - physical threats such as robbery and fraud have been present for many years.  The scale, type and complexity of threat to businesses, has, however, evolved significantly in recent years, to the extent that security issues such as threat management, online fraud prevention and brand protection have become boardroom discussions.  So what is so different about the threats lurking in today’s business world compared to, say, twenty years ago?

First, the same globalization trend which enables legitimate businesses to enter new country markets, generating new revenue streams or lowering manufacturing costs, also offers opportunities to counterfeiters, parallel traders and anti-corporate extremists. The latter are increasingly able to coordinate smear campaigns, product boycotts, staff intimidation and service disruption, on a global scale.

Second, the arrival of the internet and the opening of country borders have both enabled the cultivation of “grey markets” which move rapidly from country to country, threatening to erode revenues, contaminate supply chains and dilute brands.

Possibly the most frightening trend of all, however, is the way in which the widespread adoption of the internet into the everyday lives of consumers and businesses has encouraged organized gangs to follow the money by moving on-line with their criminal activity.

Information security chiefs have been working hard for some time to defend their organizations from a multitude of on-line threats – phishing, pharming, hacking, cyber- squatting, claimed relationships, intrusion incidents and click fraud, among others – all of which threaten to damage their hard won brands, revenue streams, customer trust, and ultimately their corporate reputations. It’s no longer enough for organizations to be reactive.  Faced with such threats, organizations are realizing the need to take a proactive stance and predict and prevent threats before they occur. The solution allows them to do exactly that.