LexisNexis Risk Solutions Report Highlights Global Cybercrime Activity in 2020's First Half; Michael Breslin Quoted

The overall rate of cybersecurity incidents due to human factors declined 33 percent during the first half of the year while bot-driven attacks rose around the world as digital transactions increased over the six-month period, according to a new LexisNexis Risk Solutions study.

In its biannual Cybercrime Report released Tuesday, LexisNexis Risk Solutions noted that 66 percent of 22.5B transactions processed through its Digital Identity Network came from mobile devices, a 20 percent increase from early 2015, and attributed the trend to the ongoing migration to online services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company also identified “networked fraud” across the North American region as new digital identities were created for e-commerce and marketplace-related activities.

Fraudulent activities resulted in the exposure of around $27.9M across a retail network of 850 devices, 134k email addresses and 61K telephone numbers, the report noted.

Michael Breslin, strategic client relations director for federal law enforcement at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said the company’s special investigations team is working with authorities to ensure security of government transactions that include data on pandemic unemployment assistance.

“Agencies must arm themselves with a layered defense that can detect the full spectrum of possible attacks and is future-proofed against evolving threats,” he said.

LexisNexis noted that while the U.S. and Canada represented the lowest cyberattack rates earlier this year, the U.S. accounted for the highest volume of automated and human-based attacks globally.

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