Vertical Markets

Sales comment

by Mark Rowe

The BBC has announced the imminent launch of a new ‘secure facebook’ initiative that could help retailers save millions of pounds each year by sharing information on cyber threats. But, fraud specialist Tony Sales has serious doubts about the new system – because it only operates during office and working hours.

Tony Sales defrauded retailers of £30m over a six year period. But, he has turned over a new leaf and is now applying this knowledge to the retail sector, advising them how to beat fraud alongside Retail Knowledge – the company behind the annual Retail Fraud show.

The new initiative for cyber threats, which is run by GCHQ, MI5 and police to share information via a secure web portal system, will monitor attacks and provide details in real-time of who is being targeted. The BBC reported: “A group of 12-15 analysts with security clearance will work mainly during office hours.”

It is this element which has particularly caught Sales’ attention. He said: “The key thing for me here is that they say they will operate during ‘office hours’. Fraudsters work 24 hours, unlike those charged with loss prevention. Just like the experts working on this initiative, fraudsters share information too – it’s what keeps you in ‘business’. This means that fraudsters will share the information about when the portal is open, making it too easy for them to beat it.”

Background

The new Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP) has emerged out of a 2012 pilot scheme in which 80 companies from finance, defence, energy, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals were encouraged to share information. The pilot has been expanded to 160 firms.

Original story – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21945702

Tony Sales is working with Retail Knowledge to help retailers combat fraud, reduce shrinkage and improve loss prevention levels. They have a rapidly growing client list including some of the biggest retailers in Europe.

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