ACFE Annual Fraud Conference: Stories from behind the scenes

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AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody

ACFE Social Media Specialist

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Vindication. The one word to aptly sum up the tumultuous rollercoaster ride for whistleblower and ex-CEO Michael Woodford after hearing news break yesterday that Japanese prosecutors had arrested three of Olympus’ top executives and four of its consultants for a $1.7 billion fraud.

At each twist and turn of the Olympus scandal, I have followed Woodford’s plight and watched anxiously as he has moved from accuser to whistleblower to now, crusader, in a saga that is not even close to being finished. This story, along with many others, will be just a few of the highlights at the 23rd Annual Fraud Conference & Exhibition in Orlando this June.

Woodford is one of five keynote speakers to address the more than 2,300 anti-fraud professionals at this year’s Conference. Joining him is U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, co-author of the Dodd-Frank Act; Pamela Meyer, CFE, best-selling author of Liespotting; Diana Henriques, The New York Times senior financial writer and author of The Wizard of Lies; and Mark Whitacre, convicted fraudster and subject of “The Informant.”

To add to the keynote roster, the more than 60 breakout sessions spread out over 12 tracks round out a conference offering something for everyone. Here are a few session titles to spark your curiosity:

  • Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Online and Fraud
  • Ethics Panel: It May Be Legal, But is it Ethical?
  • Online Fraud in the Age of “Wikileaks”
  • Putting the Freud in Fraud
  • The UK Bribery Act, the FCPA and the Rising Tide of Anti- Corruption
  • Developing the Corporate Investigator, the First Year
  • Financial Statement Fraud - Chinese Style
  • Managing Client Expectations

Ok, I’ve probably already given away too much. We look forward to another exciting Conference and hope to see you in Orlando in June. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.

Cyber Attacks and Insider Threats in a New World

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SPEAKER INSIGHTS

Interview with James J. Butterworth, CFE, CGIA, GSNA, GREM, EnCE
CSO - HBGary, Inc.
Former Electronic Warfare/Cryptologist with the U.S. Navy
Featured speaker at this month’s ACFE webinar, “Threats in the Age of Wikileaks” on Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. EDT

Why is addressing this topic so vital right now?

2011 has been a benchmark year in the exploitive and intrusive nature of cyber attacks. No longer content to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, or to simply deface a website, attackers have opened a new chapter in the history book by pursuing sensitive information for the sake of transparency. This runs counter to a corporation’s legal right to protect their information, business processes and intellectual property. 

How do you see information storage on “the cloud” influencing the vulnerability of digital information?

A corporation cannot protect what they do not possess within their sphere of control.  It must be understood and subsequently debated, “What is a cloud provider's legal obligation when considering claims of negligent enablement?" Is there a precedent to compel service providers to demonstrate tighter control over third-party digital assets in the cloud?

What will attendees take away with them after attending? What will they be able to implement immediately?

They will talk away with the knowledge of recent tendencies of cyber terrorist groups to plan and carry out operations for other than honorable agendas, as well as knowledge of how these operations are communicated, planned, shared, by whom and for what purpose. Being aware of these methods will enable CFEs to focus on internal audits for signs of insider threats. Many of the members of recent groups have come from the inside, clearly demonstrating a brazen shift in the measures they will go to support an agenda.

Find out more about Butterworth’s upcoming webinar Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. EDT here.