Home » Weekly Round-Up, 22 October – 21

Weekly Round-Up, 22 October – 21

In the “Weekly Round-Up” we summarise and give extra reading suggestions for some of the past weeks financial crime news headlines, powered by Acuminor’s crime universe ThreatView®.

We are nearing the end of October. There has been a lot of valuable information flowing past me so far this month and I want to share some highlights from the past week. We are still lingering in the cyber security month so let’s start with a few articles from cyberspace. 

Cyber-attacks on infrastructure

For many years, cyber security firms and governments have warned about cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure. The bits and pieces that control information in industrial systems have quite a few flaws and are vulnerable to attacks. This year we have seen several ransomware attacks targeting hospitals, schools, the energy sector, and the food industry. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency has released a joint advisory on ongoing attacks on the US water/wastewater system.

Cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency – Ongoing Cyber Threats to U.S. Water and Wastewater Systems Sector Facilities

Gaming-related scams

Two interesting articles caught my eyes, touching on the adaptability and displacement of criminals. During Covid, a lot of young people took to video games to nurture social networks and activities. So did the criminals. There has been an increase in gaming-related scams.
 
 
In Mexico, the Cartels also need to recruit new resources into their ranks. By befriending young people during gameplay in online games, cartels are trying to find new ways to exploit young children.
 
 

Various reports

One of the best reports from this month was an extensive report from Global Financial Integrity who has studied “Financial Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean”. It contains country summaries, case studies, regional analysis on crime activities and financial crime typologies. 

Global Financial Integrity – Financial Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean: Understanding Country Challenges and Designing Effective Technical Responses

And to sum it up with two reports looking towards the future; 

Global initiative has released a report that identifies five scenarios for the future of international criminal justice cooperation based on observed trends. 

Global Initiative – The future of international cooperation against transnational organized crime

Fresh off the press, The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has released the first-ever National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change. Now it might not directly cover the topics of money laundering and terrorist financing. However, climate change will have a significant impact on the evolution of crime overall. 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence  – National intelligence estimate on climate change

If you want more daily updates on what we pick up around the world regarding crime and typologies, dive into our Daily news feed or head over to ThreatView to access our analysis on crime, components and how they connect to each other.

Want to learn more about what we do at Acuminor? Read about our world for more information, send me a message on LinkedIn or send an email to relations@acuminor.com.

Have a nice weekend!

Johan Landström

Co-founder and CISO Acuminor

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About Acuminor

The methods used by criminals is constantly evolving and each organisation faces different risks as a result. With help of expertise and powerful technology, Acuminor’s risk analysis platform provides unique insights into threats and risks from money laundering, terrorist financing and sanction violations. This enables you to know your risks and reduce them before it’s too late.