Cybersecurity Journalist says SolarWinds Hack is a “Harbinger” of Threats to Come

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Cybersecurity Journalist says SolarWinds Hack is a “Harbinger” of Threats to Come

Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author Misha Glenny says that ransomware should be the top concern of European organizations — and that they’re not prepared. “Over the past year, we have seen a ramping up of the strategy among some of the top Russian ransomware groups. Instead of just locking up your data, leaving you to bang your head against a brick wall, some groups are now carrying out their threat to exfiltrate your data and post it for all your competitors to peruse,” he told the ACFE. “The darkest moment in cybersecurity over the last year was the discovery of the SolarWinds hack … This is a harbinger of the security issues in the era of the Internet of Things and machine-to-machine learning.” Glenny, who’s groundbreaking exposé, McMafia, has been adapted into a major BBC television series, will be speaking at the virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Europe, 11-12 March.

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Digital Innovation Expert Asks Fraud Fighters to Plan for the Next 50 Years of Technological Advancements

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Digital Innovation Expert Asks Fraud Fighters to Plan for the Next 50 Years of Technological Advancements

At the 2020 ACFE Fraud Conference Canada last week, Alex Benay, the Former Chief Information Officer of Canada and a Digital Innovation Expert and Partner at Digital Solutions, KMPG, had attendees engage in a thought experiment to imagine the world 50 years from now. According to Benay’s hypothesis, this kind of thinking is necessary for countries and businesses to reimagine themselves in our rapidly changing digital age.

To understand the scale of change we could witness in the future, Benay began by analyzing the past. Benay noted the dramatic shift in the economic production model that we’ve witnessed within the past 50 years. To illustrate this claim, he offered a list of firsts:

  • 50 years ago: the invention of the first 16-bit mini computer

  • 40 years ago: the first cassette player, making portable music a reality

  • 30 years ago: the first case of genetic engineering in humans

  • 20 years ago: the first Blackberry

  • 10 years ago: the first all-electric car

  • 5 years ago: the first bionic eye

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WADA Founder, Former CIO of Canada, Money Laundering Expert and More to Speak at Canadian Anti-Fraud Conference

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WADA Founder, Former CIO of Canada, Money Laundering Expert and More to Speak at Canadian Anti-Fraud Conference

The founder and former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Dick Pound, has spent decades battling corruption and bribery within the International Olympic Committee. His experiences have made him passionate about rooting out any type of fraud, and he believes there are similarities between the high-stakes world of the Olympics and the international business world. “The win-at-all-costs syndrome produces the same kind of conduct in both scenarios,” he told the ACFE. “When things go international, the clash of cultures can exacerbate opportunities and expectations regarding corruption. International aspects make detection and enforcement more difficult.”

Pound will address more than 200 anti-fraud professionals at the virtual 2020 ACFE Fraud Conference Canada, November 1-4. He will share his stories of fighting bribery relating to cities bidding to host the Olympics, corruption in judging sports and pressure on athletes to dope.

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Insider Tips for Creating Memorable Ethics and Compliance Training

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Insider Tips for Creating Memorable Ethics and Compliance Training

In a recent virtual session at the ACFE Fraud Conference Asia-Pacific, Rupert Evill sought to dispel the stigma and disdain surrounding ethics and compliance departments by teasing out the reasons for this stigma and providing attendees with insider tips to make compliance and ethics trainings memorable and effective. As the founder of EthicsInsight, Evill described his work by saying, “EthicsInsight is trying to simplify the way risk is assessed and benchmarked from a controls perspective so then you can really focus on managing the cultural change aspect.”

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Treat the Illness, Not the Symptom: Fixing Fraud at the Root With an Ethical Corporate Culture

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Treat the Illness, Not the Symptom: Fixing Fraud at the Root With an Ethical Corporate Culture

Examples of organizations employing fraudulent practices due to ethical lapses are in the media almost every week. Sometimes they let the bottom line become more important than adhering to their stated ethical values. Other times, they never cared about having an ethical framework in the first place. Regardless of why ethics were ignored, the outcome is almost always the same: fraud.

“I see fraud as a symptom of an unethical culture,” said Dr. Attracta Lagan, co-principal of Managing Values, in her keynote session at the virtual 2020 ACFE Global Fraud Conference Asia-Pacific. Dr. Lagan stressed to attendees how important it is for anti-fraud professionals to look at behavioral science when it comes to instilling and maintaining an ethical culture in their organization.

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What We Can Learn From Nonverbal Communication in Interviews

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What We Can Learn From Nonverbal Communication in Interviews

During her keynote session at this year’s virtual ACFE Fraud Conference Asia-Pacific, forensics and nonverbal communication expert Kiki Wong explained how we can deepen our understanding of body language and use that knowledge to conduct more thorough and effective investigations and interviews. As head of forensics at The Forensics Company and director at The Silent Company, Wong has spent years researching micro facial expressions, handwriting analysis and lie detection. Her presentation focused on various in-depth examinations of both nonverbal and verbal deceptive measures to be attuned to when investigating fraud.

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