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ITMG Insider Threat News – July 13, 2020

From the Chartroom: The Cost of China’s Intellectual-Property Theft

Imagine if pirates were sailing up and down America’s coasts, plundering treasure worth between 0.9 percent and 2.6 percent of U.S. GDP every year. Amid the partisan rancor of today’s politics, any new consensus is notable. And if any new bipartisan consensus has recently emerged, it may be this: The existing terms of the economic relationship between the U.S. and China fail to serve America’s interests. Debate continues to swirl around the efficacy of specific policies, such as tariffs, as solutions to these problems. But even President Trump’s political opponents now acknowledge that there are, indeed, problems in need of solutions when it comes to U.S.–China economic relations.

How To Improve Asset Management and Security

The future of asset management requires organizations invest in digitization, which has the added benefit of improving security. You would be amazed at how many organizations still use archaic technologies to keep track of their workloads and vital pieces of information. Fortunately, some companies have begun to make the push toward more cloud-based solutions for managing their data. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has increased this necessity as a greater number of people switch to working remotely. However, hastily pushed software and hardware can have unintended consequences with IT managers unable to make such a massive switch in a short period of time. Whether your company specializes in tangible or intangible assets, it’s always a good idea to get started with making the business’ processes simpler to manage.

The Threat Posed by the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party to the Economic and National Security of the United States

Remarks as delivered. Good morning. I realize it’s challenging, particularly under the current circumstances, to put on an event like this, so I’m grateful to the Hudson Institute for hosting us today. The greatest long-term threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property, and to our economic vitality, is the counterintelligence and economic espionage threat from China. It’s a threat to our economic security—and by extension, to our national security.

INSIGHT: SCOTUS Decision on Computer Fraud Act Could Impact Trade Secrets

In 1983, some members of Congress saw the movie WarGames—in which a teenager unintentionally starts the countdown to World War III by breaking into a military supercomputer—and freaked out. Soon thereafter, Congress passed the original version of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Through various revisions, the law has been expanded in scope and has become a powerful tool in cases of trade secret misappropriation, both criminal and civil. A CFAA claim can be a nice complement to a trade secret misappropriation claim because the CFAA is not subject to some of the more restrictive requirements of federal and state trade secret laws.

The Egregious 11: Examining the Top Cloud Computing Threats

Each year, the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) releases its “Top Threats to Cloud Computing” study to raise awareness of key risks and vulnerabilities in the cloud and promote strong security practices. Insider Threats: Malicious insiders can be current or former employees, contractors or other trusted third parties who use their access to act in a way that could negatively affect the organization. Since insiders have legitimate access, pinpointing potential security issues can be extremely difficult and remediating incidents can be costly. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2020 Cost of Insider Threats Study, the average global cost of insider threats rose by 31% in two years to $11.45 million and the frequency of incidents spiked by 47% in the same time period. Whether it’s a privileged user abusing their level of access or inadvertently misconfiguring a cloud resource, having a PAM program in place to protect from these insider abuses is paramount.

How Covid-19 Has Added to ‘Insider Threat’ Risks

The working at home environment coupled with lockdown has exposed companies to additional risks of fraud and the unintentional leak of confidential information. So what can they do about it, asks David Lorrimer. The Morrisons Supreme Court decision allowed employers to breathe a sigh of relief as the retailer was held not to be vicariously liable for the actions of a rogue employee. However, in the same breath, the Supreme Court suggested that employers could be held vicariously liable for data breaches by their employees, thus giving rise to an “insider threat”. This article looks at what the insider threat is, and the practical steps employers can take to protect themselves.

B2B PAYMENTS BEC Attacks Surge As Fraudsters Eye Pandemic Opportunity

Wirecard continues to dominate the headlines in the realm of corporate fraud thanks to $2 billion missing from the company’s books, but it’s not the only company at the center of questionable activity. With the global pandemic continuing to cause market disruptions, the opportunities for fraudsters remain on the rise.  At the same time, however, new research from Harvard Business Review found that the percentage of businesses that actually report attempted or actual fraud is actually on the decline.

Amazon Establishes Counterfeit Crime Unit To Combat Fake Products

Last week, Amazon announced that is has established a Counterfeit Crime Unit to help combat the billions of counterfeit listings that are attempted each year on Amazon. You can access Amazon’s full announcement post here. Everyday counterfeiters are trying to sell inferior quality goods on Amazon under the brand name of other companies. These counterfeiters often infringe on the trademark, patent, and copyright laws in the process. The new Counterfeit Crime Unit is focused on identifying those who sell counterfeit products on Amazon, bringing about legal action, and preventing future fake product listings before they happen. Millions of different sellers sell hundreds of millions of products on Amazon. It makes sense that one of the company’s most significant issues is counterfeiting operations that knock-off name brand products. Amazon’s aggressive stance against counterfeit products is warranted, and I will dive into why it matters below.

Coronavirus: Fujitsu Announces Permanent Work-From-Home Plan

Technology firm Fujitsu has said it will halve its office space in Japan as it adapts to the “new normal” of the coronavirus pandemic. It says the “Work Life Shift” programme will offer unprecedented flexibility to its 80,000 workers in the country. Staff will be able to work flexible hours, and working from home will be standard wherever possible. The announcement follows a similar move in May by social media platform Twitter. In a statement sent to the BBC, Fujitsu said it “will introduce a new way of working that promises a more empowering, productive, and creative experience for employees that will boost innovation and deliver new value to its customers and society”.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2020 at 10:51 am. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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