The Metropolitan Police e-Crime Unit arrested twelve individuals last week in connection with allegations surrounding an apparently audacious attempt to infiltrate the security systems at Santander Bank (in particular the Surrey Quays branch of the bank).
It is alleged that one of the arrestees masqueraded as an employee of a telecoms company and attempted to place an electronic device, known as a KVM, an easily available keyboard video mouse, and fit it to a computer within the branch.
These arrests were as a result of a three month operation, and four individuals were eventually charged with fraud offences. This is in accordance with the new CPS prosecution policy which is to charge only the most important four arrestees in any major investigation.
Many industry insiders believe that these allegations represent a new trend, and that finance houses will continue to be the focus of such alleged attacks, featuring particularly tailored strategies homing in on the security weaknesses of the target. Cybercrime has moved away from attempting to crack through firewalls, by all accounts.
It is estimated that the cost of cybercrime to the UK is between £18 billion and £27 billion; UK financial services lost £5.4 billion as a result of fraud.
The government also states that fraud cost the country overall last year in excess of £85 billion; the UK banks lost £47 million and online banking lost £40 million in 2012.
We have specialist lawyers who successfully defend cybercrime allegations and lawyers who advise those who have lost money as a result of cybercrime.
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