Businesses both big and small are increasing their use of forensic data analytics (FDA) in a concerted effort to combat growing cybercrime. This has been led by growing fears of internal data threats and cyberattacks. However, the use of cutting-edge technology has been resisted in some sectors due to a perception of what the return on the investment would be. This is according to a recent report published by the dispute service and fraud investigation unit at Ernst & Young.
In the detailed report, the results of input from 655 executives that are in charge of anti-fraud schemes are examined. These managers work for a variety of businesses in diverse sectors. The results given show a 22 per cent increase in firms deploying in-house FDA solutions. This has been led by fears about cyber breaches and threats internally to digital security. Over the past two years, fears have been heightened, according to 62 per cent of executives interviewed.
Having the facilities in place to respond to a cyberattack was the most common reason given for the use of forensic data analytic tools. This was even more of a concern for companies than an increase in scrutiny by regulatory bodies.
Ernst & Young cyberthreat expert David Remnitz said: “We are seeing some tremendous innovations to enhance companies’ anti-fraud [activities], including insider threat and cyber fraud. Particularly around text analytics to identify corrupt or malicious intent; statistical analysis to help build predictive models based on known bad behaviors; and data visualisation, including pattern and link analysis, to help identify hidden relationships or patterns between disparate data sources.”
FDA tools are defined for the purpose of the report as anything that collects and analyses data security in order to find inappropriate financial transactions or non-compliance with regulatory rules.