Brian Kinch

As new countries such as those in the Nordics embrace contactless payments, people are asking about the impact on fraud. We discussed this last month at the DT Fraud Conference 2017, where Peter Bayley from Visa and I debated some of the issues arising. The good news is that contactless doesn’t appear to increase fraud. But it could. The first thing to note here is…

As much of our lives and our spending has gone online, the criminal’s life has become exponentially easier and the risks of getting caught exponentially smaller. If I can capture enough information about you through your naivety — such as getting you to respond to a phishing e-mail, or through your lack of risk awareness by capitalising on your lack of up-to-date anti…

Sometimes, even when a vulnerability is identified or a threat properly qualified, it is too late to do something about it. The crime has already taken place. This is the antithesis of the future seen in the Spielberg movie Minority Report, where seers expose “PreCrimes.” In today’s security world, we’re less likely to find something about to happen, or even somethin…

When FICO hosted the Business Continuity Institute Forum covering the South and East of England at our London offices last month, you might have expected technology to top the agenda. But what dominated the discussion among more than 40 business continuity and cyber security experts was not malware but “humanware” — that is, people. Social engineering remains one of…

The recent spike in ATM compromises and fraud in the US reminds us that something we do all the time — getting cash from a cash machine — can be risky business. However, with so many different types of banks and ATMs, it can be challenging to decipher what is cause for concern and what is just a trustworthy ATM. Here are four signs that an ATM has been tampered with:…

One of the greatest threats to any organization is the "rogue" employee who — for reasons of need, greed, threat or manipulation — finds themselves undertaking actions that are inappropriate, disreputable, dishonest or criminal, including fraud. If the rogue has a high level of authority, the risks are significantly increased. Of course, none of us want to think that…

At a recent fraud conference I was exchanging contact with new business acquaintances and colleagues and it occurred to me how much trust that we place in people when we can see them face-to-face. Not once did I find myself looking at a card and wondering: "Is that really this person's name?" or "Do they truly work for the company that they claim?" So why is that? P…

Sometimes when I visit banks I find myself looking at scribbled Post-it notes containing user name and password attached to PCs. I may also see a neatly typed record of the key code necessary to access a secure gate or door within easy sight of any external visitor. Is this bad cybersecurity? Sure. And it’s something we learn at home. We all lock our doors at night,…

"Don't touch that!" was the chastising phrase Q said to James Bond. Technological advancement was to be treated carefully and with respect — lest it blow up in your face. How many of us have used the same phrase with our kids, sometimes even with their own toys? Take the remote control helicopters that looked so cool on the toy shelves and broke so quickly when the j…

There has been a technical and moral debate raging on whether the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) should be regulated or controlled. The fear is that machine-based learning could reach the “singularity” — the point at which smart machines can build other smart machines and present a threat to humanity. Many films – most famously the Terminator franchise - h…

How can a business tell that you are who you say you are, in the fastest, most consistent and most effective way? Along with cybersecurity, this may be the hottest topic in financial crime and fraud prevention today: authentication. As one of the founders of the MIDAS Alliance, I’ve just spent a day with experts at the front lines of this topic, as we met in the ausp…

A new approach for issuers and merchants to collaborate on stopping fraud is taking shape. But it turns out not to be new. Allow me to take you “back to the future” to explain. Some 30 years ago when I first started out in the credit card business, there was a far closer liaison between subscribing banks and their customers. The Joint Credit Card Company (JCCC) acted…