The UK government should be spending more on catching cybercriminals instead of splurging taxpayers' money on antivirus software, tech boffins have said.
Blighty goes through around £639m a year trying to clean up after attacks or prevent threats – including £108m it spends on antivirus – but the country is only spending £9.6m on techy law enforcement, a University of Cambridge study found.
"Some police forces believe the problem is too large to tackle," Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory, said in a canned statement.
"In fact, a small number of gangs lie behind many incidents and locking them up would be far more effective than telling the public to fit an anti-phishing toolbar or purchase antivirus software."
The Cabinet Office said it welcomed "this latest contribution to the debate on cybercrime".
"The government believes the threat is serious and needs to be tackled and that is why we have rated cyber as a Tier 1 threat. Raising awareness and building capacity to resist threats continues to be our focus," a spokesperson told The Reg in an emailed statement.
"That includes investing in law enforcement capability to detect and apprehend cyber criminals. But we also think it is important to make sure people have the information they need to take steps to protect themselves."
The study, which was started after a request from the Ministry of Defence, also said that the amount of money the UK was losing as a result of cybercrime was being exaggerated.
"For instance, a report (PDF) released in February 2011 by the BAE subsidiary Detica in partnership with the Cabinet Office’s Office of Cybersecurity and Information Assurance suggested that the overall cost to the UK economy from cyber-crime is £27 billion annually," the research said.
"That report was greeted with widespread scepticism and [was] seen as an attempt to talk up the threat; it estimated Britain's cybercrime losses as £3bn by citizens, £3bn by the government and a whopping £21bn by companies. These corporate losses were claimed to come from IP theft (business secrets, not copied music and films) and espionage, but were widely disbelieved both by experts and in the press."
Using figures ranging from 2007 to 2012, including some which are "extremely rough estimates" based on data or assumption for the reference area, the study reckoned that all the costs of cybercrime both direct and indirect came out at around £11.7bn.
UK.gov – Cybercrime is expensive
The Cabinet Office spokesman said that Detica was best placed to explain its own methodology, but still disagreed somewhat with the study's conclusions.
"The Cyber Security Strategy was clear that a truly robust estimate would probably never be established, but that the costs are high and rising," he said.
"That said, we think there are grounds for believing that the true cost is higher than the £11bn quoted by Cambridge University.
"For example, the authors say that they can't find any hard evidence of the cost of IP theft and have therefore concluded this doesn't impose any costs beyond the defensive measures they refer to elsewhere in the paper. However, there are suspected cases of IP theft in the public domain and the costs are not nil.”
Aside from differing opinions on the cost of cybercrime, the research team also reckoned that some existing meatspace crime was moving online and being tallied up as part of the cyber cost.
The study pointed out that fraud in the welfare and tax systems, which now often takes place online, is probably costing Brits a few hundred pounds a year on average while card and bank fraud cost a few tens of pounds a year per citizen.
However, what they call 'true cybercrime', scams that completely depend on the internet, are only costing a few tens of pence a year, while the cost of antivirus software can be hundreds of times that.
Basically, the indirect costs of folks trying to protect themselves from cybercriminals actually end up costing them more.
"Take credit card fraud," said Richard Clayton, expert in the econometrics of cybercrime in Cambridge’s Computer Lab. "Direct loss is clearly the monetary loss suffered by the victim.
"However, the victim might then lose trust in online banking and make fewer electronic transactions, pushing up the indirect costs for the bank because it now needs to maintain cheque clearing facilities, and this cost is passed on to society.
"Meanwhile, defence costs are incurred through recuperation efforts and the increased security services purchased by the victim. The cost to society is the sum of all of these," he explained.
The research team concluded that there should be less spent on antivirus and firewalls and other preventative measures and "an awful lot more" on catching and punishing the perpetrators.
The study (PDF, 346KB) is due to be presented at the 11th annual Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS), which takes place in Berlin on 25 and 26 June. ®
Nigeria: Concern Mounts Over Forex Reserves Accretion - AllAfrica.com
The steady growth recorded by Nigeria's forex reserves since this year may discontinue as a result of the sharp drop in the price of crude oil.
THISDAY checks Sunday showed that the forex reserves -derived mainly from the proceeds of crude oil production, fell by $218 million in the last nine days, from $37.768 billion as at June 6 to $37.550 billion last Thursday.
The reserves which stood at $32,985 billion at the beginning of the year, improved remarkably to $35.608 billion at the end of the first quarter.
On the other hand, crude oil price settled at $83.99 per barrel on Friday, after touching an eight-month low near of $81.
This was attributed to concern over Spain's bank bailout, the euro debt scenario, among other external factors. The current value of the oil price reflected a drop by 35 per cent, compared with its peak value of $127 per barrel in mid-March.
At the current rate of decline, financial market experts predicted that forex inflow into the country would fall from the $4.31 billion it was in January to $3.34 billion next month, while they also forecast the external reserves would diminish to $22 billion- covering less than three months of imports.
The development has also impacted negatively on the naira as it has depreciated significantly against the United States dollar, especially at the interbank and parallel markets.
For instance, at the interbank market, the naira has so far fallen by N4.68 to N163.68 to a dollar on Friday, as against the N159 to a dollar it was on May 15. Similarly, at the parallel market, the local currency dropped by a total of N4.20 to close at N164.20/$1 on Friday, compared with the N160/$1 to a dollar it was a month earlier.
Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said the recent decline in oil prices was partly triggered by market sentiments of a further deepening crisis in the euro-zone, in conjunction with weak economic growth recorded in advanced economies in the first quarter of the year.
"The question however is how vulnerable are Nigeria's external reserves, should oil prices drop further, for example, to a low of $80 per barrel? The Federal Government's budget is benchmarked to oil price at $72 per barrel, while Bonny Light crude is trading at $98 per barrel.
This is a variance of $26 per barrel. At the current rate of decline, we expect forex inflows to fall from $4.31 billion in January to $3.34 billion in July.
"If oil prices were to drop to $80 per barrel (which is 50 per cent likelihood based on current trends), there is a 95 per cent likelihood that forex inflows will decline to approximately $3.03 billion."
"In this situation Nigeria's external reserves would be expected to follow suit and drop to a value as low as $22 billion, covering less than three months of imports. Resultantly, the CBN may be forced to allow the naira to depreciate sharply to N165/$1, to compensate for the substantial loss in oil revenue."
International Financial Advisory and Investment firm - Renaissance Capital (RenCap) also warned that the drop in oil price may pose some risk to the Nigerian economy if the trend continues, even as it expressed concern over the ability of the federal government to meet its revenue projections if the trend continues.
Vice President, Sub-Saharan Africa Economist, RenCap, Yvonne Mhango, said: "This evidently has implications for Nigeria given that it is an important oil exporter. Our estimates suggest that the risk to Nigeria's economy becomes significant if the average oil price for 2012 drops below $75 per barrel."
Similarly, FSDH Securities Limited, in its latest report, stated that "the recent sharp drop in the international price of oil has severe negative implications for the country's external reserves position in the short-to-medium term. The recent shortfall in crude oil production, coupled with the declining price of crude oil could put further pressure on the exchange rate in the face of growing demand, particularly from oil importers."
As a result of all these, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy/Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, last Wednesday, advised members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to be proactive in decision making, so as to forestall effects of possible economic recession based on happenings in the global economy. She had warned them to shun wastefulness in the management of the nation's resources.
Forex Flash: The euro crisis is not over yet – HSBC - NASDAQ
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The news of that the election results in Greece yielded 162 seats for pro bail-out parties has sparked rallies in major stock markets and a short lived rally for the single currency. According to HSBC this should not make investors forget that the even the pro bail-out parties have expressed their wish to renegotiate the terms of the EU support. HSBC considers that "a temporary relief rally in the euro and risk assets does not mean that uncertainty has been eliminated. Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy leader, has said that he, too, wants to renegotiate some of the terms of the bail-out which means that a temporary halt to Troika funding cannot be ruled out. More immediately, ND needs to form a coalition involving PASOK, which has suggested forming a national unity government including SYRIZA."
HSBC adds that "while a coalition of pro-bailout parties would put the idea of a Greek euro exit on the backburner for now, it would not alter the underlying problems in the eurozone itself, including Spain, and the urgent need for a response at the June 28-29 European Council summit."
Tough luck, Generation X: Only half of wealthy Baby Boomers to leave money for their kids...and ONE THIRD would rather give it to charity - Daily Mail
- Baby Boomers defined as people between the ages of 47 and 66
- Generation X refers to people born between early 1960s and early 1980s
- 55 per cent of Baby Boomers believe it's important to leave money to offspring
- Most Baby Boomers believe each generation should earn its own wealth
- Three-quarters of people younger than 46 favor leaving money to kids
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When members of the Baby Boomers generation die in the next 50 years, they will leave trillions of dollars in wealth behind, but their children should not hold their breath for a large inheritance.
According to the U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth annual study released on Monday, only 55 per cent of Baby Boomers - those between the ages of 47 to 66 - think it is important to leave money for their offspring.
U.S. Trust commissioned an independent, national survey of 642 high net worth adults, who were not clients, with at least $3million in investable assets.
Givers: A study found that 31 per cent of wealthy Baby Boomers would prefer to leave their money to charity
One of three Baby Boomers surveyed – about 31 per cent - don’t think it is important to leave a financial inheritance and said they would rather leave money to charity than to their children.
By contrast, three-quarters of wealthy people under age 46 said it's a priority to leave inheritance for their children.
The top reason for not wanting to leave money for their kids is the belief shared by some Baby Boomers that each subsequent generation should work to earn its own wealth.
Following closely behind is the thought that it is more important to invest in children’s success while they are growing up.
‘Our survey points to a shift in generational behavior and outlook, most likely shaped by personal experience and societal responses to economic realities,’ said Keith Banks, president of U.S. Trust.
Banks added that well-off parents are concerned that the next generation is not prepared to inherit wealth, which is not surprising considering the fact that most of the Baby Boomers surveyed don't talk to their kids about money: just 37 per cent said they've fully disclosed their net worth to their children.
Kept in the dark: Just 37 per cent of Baby Boomers said they've fully disclosed their net worth to their kids
Those over age 67 said they weren't having this discussion because they were raised to avoid money talk, while younger respondents said they didn't want to inhibit their kids' work ethic.
Unlike the majority of people from her generation, 63-year-old Kathleen Taylor, of Chimacum, Washington, taught her two grown children since they were young to be responsible for their own money.
That is why she plans to leave most of her money to her children and some money to charitable causes, ABC News reported.
One way Taylor and her husband taught their children about responsible spending was providing the value of college tuition, room and board to each of them and putting them in charge of paying the bills.
‘People thought we were crazy,’ she told ABC.
The Taylors plan to start a college fund once their children start having their own kids. And they intend to add to it on their grandchildren’s birthdays as long as Taylor and her husband are alive.
Mrs Taylor said she hopes her own children will do the same for their great-grandchildren.
The U.S. Trust study also has found that 42 per cent of Baby Boomers and 54 per cent of those under age 46 are paying medical costs for their parents or other relatives.
I know it's just your headline writer I'm taking issue with here and not the author of the piece, but in general most of the children of the Boomers fall into the generation know as Gen Y / The Millenials. Gen X's parents are to be found with higher frequency among the Silent Generation.
- Patrick, Miami, Florida, USA, 18/6/2012 19:47
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