A weighty responsibility

ENAR

In February, thieves stole $45 million from thousands of ATMs worldwide in a matter of hours. In New York City alone, 2,904 machines were hacked, yielding $2.4 million. According to Brooklyn’s federal prosecutor, information used to carry out the hack was initially located in India, but the withdrawals were made from ATMs using Visa and MasterCard prepaid debit cards issued by Ras Al Khaimah Bank in the United Arab Emirates and by Bank Muscat in Oman.  Such events point to the risks of our increasingly connected world. The vulnerabilities available to criminals, competitors and disgruntled insiders are increasing. According to the Gartner Group, the financial impact of cyber crime will grow 10 percent per year through 2016. In 2007 and 2008, the cost of cyber crime worldwide was estimated at approximately $8 billion. In addition, cyber criminals have stolen intellectual property with an estimated value of up to $1 trillion