Global Risks and Resilience
Threats to individuals and businesses:
• hacking, identity theft and the implications of surveillance for personal freedoms
Average cost of cybercrime is $7.7 million/year
Highest total average cost of cybercrime is in the USA at $15 million, Russia has the lowest at
$2.37 million
Hacking:
Major threat to all internet users: individuals, national governments, internet providers and
TNCs
Mobile devices and PCs often vulnerable through documents
Likely that attacks will increase in complexity
Largest attack was on Twitter, PayPal, the New York Times, CNN and the Wall Street Journal,
which was linked to a Chinese company XiongMai Technologies.
Identity theft:
Fastest-growing white-collar crimes in the USA
Incidences are expected to rise because of the increase in the number of databases, many of
which have insufficient protection
Low prosecution rates and lenient sentencing make identity theft appealing
People at risk: university students, military personnel, medical patients and even the
deceased
South-western and western states of the USA had much higher rates than the Midwest and
the east coast
Increase in identity theft in 2006 is believed to have been triggered by Hurricane Katrina
Forms of identity theft:
o Trashing: retrieval of documents from rubbish bins or a burglary
o Phishing: relies on emails to trick people into revealing personal and financial
information
o Pharming/ spoofing: information that appears relevant to recipient and encourages
them to open the email
o Smishing: sending of text messages to potential victims
o Vishing: messages sent by voice designed to corrupt the recipient's voicemail and
phone
o Data collected from lost, stolen or discarded laptops
Implications of surveillance for personal freedoms:
State surveillance of communications undermines citizens' ability to enjoy a private life,
freely express themselves and enjoy their other fundamental human rights
Growing use of surveillance after 9/11 attacks
Methods used to monitor private communications have expanded and evolved
Technological advancements mean that the effectiveness of states in conducting surveillance
is no longer limited by scale or duration
Individuals and businesses choose to store the content of their communications e.g.
Voicemails, emails and documents, with third-party service providers. Access to such
communications data is an increasingly valuable surveillance technique employed by states
Legislation has not kept pace with the changes in technology
UN report recommendations:
Threats to individuals and businesses:
• hacking, identity theft and the implications of surveillance for personal freedoms
Average cost of cybercrime is $7.7 million/year
Highest total average cost of cybercrime is in the USA at $15 million, Russia has the lowest at
$2.37 million
Hacking:
Major threat to all internet users: individuals, national governments, internet providers and
TNCs
Mobile devices and PCs often vulnerable through documents
Likely that attacks will increase in complexity
Largest attack was on Twitter, PayPal, the New York Times, CNN and the Wall Street Journal,
which was linked to a Chinese company XiongMai Technologies.
Identity theft:
Fastest-growing white-collar crimes in the USA
Incidences are expected to rise because of the increase in the number of databases, many of
which have insufficient protection
Low prosecution rates and lenient sentencing make identity theft appealing
People at risk: university students, military personnel, medical patients and even the
deceased
South-western and western states of the USA had much higher rates than the Midwest and
the east coast
Increase in identity theft in 2006 is believed to have been triggered by Hurricane Katrina
Forms of identity theft:
o Trashing: retrieval of documents from rubbish bins or a burglary
o Phishing: relies on emails to trick people into revealing personal and financial
information
o Pharming/ spoofing: information that appears relevant to recipient and encourages
them to open the email
o Smishing: sending of text messages to potential victims
o Vishing: messages sent by voice designed to corrupt the recipient's voicemail and
phone
o Data collected from lost, stolen or discarded laptops
Implications of surveillance for personal freedoms:
State surveillance of communications undermines citizens' ability to enjoy a private life,
freely express themselves and enjoy their other fundamental human rights
Growing use of surveillance after 9/11 attacks
Methods used to monitor private communications have expanded and evolved
Technological advancements mean that the effectiveness of states in conducting surveillance
is no longer limited by scale or duration
Individuals and businesses choose to store the content of their communications e.g.
Voicemails, emails and documents, with third-party service providers. Access to such
communications data is an increasingly valuable surveillance technique employed by states
Legislation has not kept pace with the changes in technology
UN report recommendations:
