An undercover security unit which infiltrates groups of cyber criminals has unearthed an alarming rise in fraudulent transactions carried out via mobile apps.
The findings, published in RSA's latest global fraud report for Q2 2018, found that from 1 April to 30 June, the fraudulent activity carried out via mobile browsers and applications made up 71% of overall fraud transactions, an increase of 16% on the previous year.
The report also highlighted the rise in rogue mobile apps, identifying 9,185 that have become the most common vehicle for attacks, with fraudsters using burner devices and throwaway accounts to carry out their endeavours.
These burner devices or fake accounts used by hackers also contributed 27% of the total value of fraudulent payments despite just 0.4% of legitimate payment transactions being attempted from a new account or device.
A burner device is usually an affordable mobile phone that can be used temporarily until it is deemed 'burned' meaning it is too risky to use. These devices can be purchased with prepaid minutes and without any contracts, allowing the user/users to easily mask their identity. This method of theft is particularly lucrative, with the report stating the average fraud transaction is now valued at $355.
During the undercover operation, the unit also recovered nearly 5.1 million unique compromised cards and card previews from reliable online fraud stores and other sources - a 60% increase in the volume of cards recovered by RSA in the previous quarter.
The report also warned of "human-not-present" fraud, highlighting how autonomous machine purchases will result in new authentication challenges for consumers, banks and merchants who will have to change their behaviour to better manage the risk.
"The modern techno-philosophy seems to be moving rapidly toward increased frequency and depth of automation directed toward tasks that traditionally required human participation, thus giving rise to a new age, one consisting of 'Human-not-present' transactions," the report stated.
-
Bigger salaries, more burnout: Is the CISO role in crisis?In-depth CISOs are more stressed than ever before – but why is this and what can be done?
-
Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25News Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
'You need your own bots' to wage war against rogue AI, warns Varonis VPNews Infosec pros are urged to get serious about data access control and automation to thwart AI breaches
-
CrowdStrike CEO: Embrace AI or be crushed by cyber crooksNews Exec urges infosec bods to adopt next-gen SIEM driven by AI – or risk being outpaced by criminals
-
Microsoft security boss warns AI insecurity 'unprecedented' as tech goes mainstreamNews RSA keynote paints a terrifying picture of billion-plus GenAI users facing innovative criminal tactics
-
APIcalypse Now: Akamai CSO warns of surging attacks and backdoored open source componentsNEWS Apps and APIs bear the brunt as threat actors pivot to living off the land
-
AI is changing the game when it comes to cyber securityNews With AI becoming more of an everyday reality, innovative strategies are needed to counter increasingly sophisticated threats
-
RSAC Chairman urges collaboration to ensure collective defense in securityNews Chairman emphasizes the critical need for cooperation among cyber security experts
-
IT Pro Live: The future of encryptionVideo AI and quantum ccomputing could be about to change the face of security forever
-
Ransomware in reality: people payNews In real life, noble intentions give way to business truths
