5 Resources to Up Your Tech Game in 2020
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If you’re one for making New Year’s resolutions, be sure to include career aspirations and professional development goals! As we begin the second decade of the millennium, one area of rapid growth for fraud examiners will be in the technology arena.
The technology revolution our society has experienced over the past thirty years has been astronomical and fraudsters have kept pace — so why shouldn’t we? Whether it’s tech used by fraudsters or tech used by fraud fighters, understanding the underlying technology is essential for you to conduct effective examinations, audits, evaluations and investigations. In some professions, like the field of law, organizations like State Bar Associations and other governing bodies have even mandated a “technology competence” standard for their members.
As fraud examiners, we regularly encounter technology in our investigations. For 2020, consider adding more technology knowledge to your toolkit. There are new technologies introduced to the world on a daily basis, so even if you’re already tech savvy, consider other tech skills you could add. Or, you can teach or write as a way to give back to the profession. Alternatively, you can volunteer in your own community to do risk awareness presentations to various groups.
Not as skilled as you want to be? That’s okay! Here are five resources you can use to help immerse yourself in the current issues, especially as they relate to fraud. This list isn’t exhaustive but meant to give you a simple, easy, free way to understand the issues today.
1. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
IC3 is a clearinghouse for complaints made about everything from business email compromises to suspicious contacts to online terrorism. IC3’s annual report is it’s best resource. It examines the most popular schemes, techniques and cyber issues from the previous year. The report breaks down crime types by age, state and victim loss amounts. This is an excellent starting place and a great resource for fraud awareness trainings!
2. EUROPOL’s Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA)
The European Union’s law enforcement coordination agency EUROPOL has published a threat assessment on internet and online crime since 2011. Their cybercrime topic page also has a wealth of information, including definitions, publications and resources to help understand this wide-ranging and truly global crime type. EUROPOL’s press releases about cyber and technology crime investigations are also worth reading, since they shed light on major schemes involving a variety of criminal actors and techniques.
3. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
CISA, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is a recent addition to the federal cyber community. It has a mandate to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure, including the federal computer networks and U.S.-based internet assets, like Internet Service Providers. With resources ranging from online safety tips to deep technical information for network administrators, CISA has a lot of wonderful information for fraud examiners with any level of interest in technology and cybercrime.
4. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
The U.K.’s version of CISA has a lot of excellent information that fraud examiners of any nationality can use, ranging from tailored resources by organizational size (small, medium and large businesses) to specific vendors who are certified by NCSC to provide various security products and services to U.K. organizations. They also provide the Cyber Essentials website, which walks anyone through the five initial key steps in securing their devices, software and data in an easy-to-use format.
5. National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS)
NICCS, part of the U.S.’s Computer Emergency Response Team, provides a gateway for students, professionals and government employees to learn the technical skills necessary for protecting digital data and information today. It hosts a catalog of training providers (including online courses) who have mapped their curriculum to national cyber education standards, as well as a student-specific site to help individuals launch a career in cybersecurity, computer crime investigations or digital forensics.
Finally, don’t forget the valuable resources available at your local public library, as well as those available through your local community colleges and public state universities as well. The ACFE has a growing library of useful information regarding data analytics, cybercrime and digital forensics on its website, too. Hopefully these resources will help get you started to “think TECH” for 2020!
Colin May, M.S., CFE, 3CE, is an Adjunct Professor of Forensic Studies and Criminal Justice at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md. For over 10 years, he was a Special Agent with the U.S. Government. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Cyber Crime Examiner (charter member); He may be reached at cmay3231@stevenson.edu. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
