EPISODE 8: CYBERCRIME - THE GREATEST HEIST IN HUMAN HISTORY
Welcome to Compromising Positions! The tech podcast that asks non-cybersecurity professionals what we in the industry can do to make their lives easier and help make our organisations more prepared to face ever-changing human-centric cyber threats!
This week our guest is Ray Blake. Ray is an advisor on financial crime matters and co-creator of the Dark Money Files podcast. In this episode, we explore the motivations driving individuals to commit such crimes, probing whether it's sheer greed, the allure of victimless crimes, or a complex mix of factors.
We discuss how the lack of direct interaction with victims and the personal rationalizations criminals make facilitate the perpetuation of these crimes. We also talk about the concept of corporate values and how they may not always align with individual morals, leading to a disconnect that can be exploited.
Furthermore, we look at the responsibility and moral hazard inherent in the fight against fraud, highlighting how cybersecurity often wrongfully blames the victim rather than focusing on the perpetrator.
Key Takeaways for this Episode:
Financial crime and cybercrime are closely related, and the lines between them are blurring.
The lack of interaction with the victim makes it easier to commit financial crime, and rationalisation is the story of organised crime.
Companies need to take responsibility for fraud and liability, and regulation and refunding customers can incentivise them to make the system safer.
Personal stories are key to creating empathy and driving change, and bad security communications can cause rebellion.
Links to everything Ray discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes and if you liked the show, please do leave us a review. Follow us on all good podcasting platforms and via our Youtube channel, and don't forget to share on LinkedIin and in your teams.
It really helps us spread the word and get high-quality guests, like Ray, on future episodes. We hope you enjoyed this episode - See you next time, keep secure, and don’t forget to ask yourself, ‘Am I the compromising position here?’
A word of warning listeners, we do discuss the darker side of crime, including human trafficking which some of our listeners may find upsetting. If this isn’t for you, feel free to skip this one and we’ll see you next week.
Show Notes
People Hacker: Confessions of a Burglar For Hire by Jenny Radcliffe
Cybercrime To Cost The World $10.5 Trillion Annually By 2025
Goldfinger Quote Jeff was referring to was:
"Man has climbed Mount Everest. Gone to the bottom of the ocean. He has fired rockets at the Moon. Split the atom. Achieved miracles in every field of human endeavour...except crime!" - Goldfinger
Statistics on human trafficking
About Ray Blake
Ray is a commentator and adviser on financial crime matters and has worked extensively across regulated financial services and related fields for many years, working frequently with Boards, MLROs and Compliance teams to help them meet their regulatory accountabilities. He’s also co-creator with Graham Barrow of The Dark Money Files Podcast which looks at financial crime from a whole range of angles.
