OM Programme: BEC Fraud

Currently, there is limited insight into the nature and extent of cyber crime. In order to gain a better understanding, and also to increase the effectiveness against cyber crime, it is necessary for parties in the cyber security ecosystem to work together. That is why, in 2018, at the initiative of the Dutch public prosecutor service and HSD Office, a workshop (open innovation exploration) was held with a number of thought leaders from the (cyber) security sector. Attendees saw added value in a joint programmatic approach to fight cyber crime. 

Today's approach does not automatically provide the answer for tomorrow’s problems. A small digital vulnerability can have far-reaching consequences for large groups of people, companies and government. Although new digital technologies enrich our lives, they are also used by criminals. This creates new crimes and modes of operation, where computers are both means and targets. Nowadays, criminal partnerships can be characterized by their innovativeness, flexibility and the ability to adapt.

Consortium

This has resulted in a collaboration within a consortium of businesses, governments and knowledge institutions. The collaboration between the Dutch public prosecution service, HSD Office, the major banks, security companies, universities and other relevant stakeholders aims to develop concrete activities, whereby, (1) new insights are gained about the nature and extent of cyber crime, as well as about the development and implementation of effective counter-measures against cyber crime, (2) a growth in opportunities for integrated public-private cooperation (i.e. Triple Helix) will be encouraged, and (3) the approach against cyber crime will become future-proof. With this, we are definitively not avoiding experiments!

BEC Fraud               

We are, amongst others, setting up a public-private partnership to counteract BEC (Business Email Compromise) fraud. Nowadays, BEC fraud is becoming more common. It causes, besides high financial damage, increasingly more victims. BEC fraud is in the top three of cyber crimes with the most financial impact. Due to the growth in the number of attacks with an increasing amount of damage, it is important BEC fraud will be tackled more firmly. In 2018, BEC fraud caused $1.2 billion in damages following the FBI's Internet Crime Report 2018.