Fraud and Risk on the Rise For Construction Companies in 2017
Business intelligence experts at Kroll (http://www.kroll.com/en-us/global-fraud-report) have compiled a 2016-2017 global report that describes and forecasts a volatile business world for construction, engineering, and infrastructure companies. Attacks on private information, digital data, and cyber infrastructure have become so commonplace, security and compliance industry experts are warning business owners that this is the “new normal.” Seven out ten construction executives surveyed in the report remarked that their companies fell victim to some level of fraud, security breach, or multifaceted cyber attack – which should be a shocking wake-up call to your business and its security measures.
A Risky World…
Tommy Helsby, Co-Chairman of Kroll Investigations & Disputes, remarked that “this year’s report shows that it’s becoming an increasingly risky world, with the largest ever proportion of companies reporting fraud and similar high levels of cyber security breaches.” As more and more construction businesses digitize their operations, adding access points in the form of smartphones, tablets, and computers – the more risk and complexity business owners inadvertently add. On a granular level, 28% of businesses fell victim to vendor, supplier, or procurement fraud; 21% of businesses fell victim to financial fraud; 19% of businesses fell victim to corruption, bribery, and theft of physical assets. Cyber attacks, quite possibly the most frightening type of attacks, struck 77% of businesses surveyed in the report, typically at the hands of a virus or clever phishing attack.
Find the Source…
Companies often ponder where these attacks come from – and interestingly enough, it is never what they are expecting. Yes, it is true there are thousands of international hackers looking to breach your server infrastructure, encrypt your data, and force you to pay a ransom to get it back. Yes there are people looking to exploit your confidential payment information and vendor relationships, causing often unforeseen financial troubles. But more often than not, the most common instances of fraud, cyber attacks, and security breaches can be traced back to the human element.
Believe it or not, the culprit is typically someone inside your company you know well – sometimes it’s the common error of duplicating or writing down passwords; other times it’s a disgruntled former employee looking to sabotage your operations. The human element will always be the one thing that undermines information security measures. Industry experts can engineer airtight data solutions that protect you cyber infrastructure, yet human interaction with said solutions always nets some user error that jeopardizes the entire system On a more positive note, the above report holds that company insiders typically encounter internal fraud at a higher rate when companies’ operations are incredibly digitized thanks to real time metrics and reporting.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Strategies for information security differ from company to company based upon size, structure, and operations, but the basics remain the same. It all begins with a mindset…don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re not an attractive target for hackers by ignoring the threats out in the world. The moment you start thinking “this can’t happen to my small construction business” is exactly the moment you are the most vulnerable.
First, practice good password management – use strong passwords with multiple numbers and symbols. Don’t share, write down, or cross-contaminate other systems or log-ins with the same password. Second, pay attention to links online, attachments in emails, or embedded links – hackers will often disguise their phishing attack to look like an asset you use everyday (Gmail, Calendars, apps etc). Third, be careful about accessing proprietary information on unprotected wireless networks. Handle these tasks on personal devices on networks you can trust – a public computer on an open connection can be easily exploited as a back door to your entire tech infrastructure. Lastly, you have to be wary of the human element once again – often hackers will contact you via phone or email “representing” a third party or ancillary service that you employ and trust asking you to confirm sensitive personal or business information. These types of hackers will find out just enough about you or your business to be dangerous, and without even knowing it, sometimes business owners fall for the trap and equip them with the very entry points they are trying to protect. It is always a best practice to take down the representative’s information and confirm the request with the parent company before you give out any personal information.
Employing these strategies can help your business stay safe in a risky world. With information and security breaches on the rise, it is very important to protect your local assets and operations with multi-tiered methods that lay the foundation for protection and security.
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