Cybercrime and Economic Fraud Hit Croatian Financial Industry Hard
Alarming Statistics Revealed in Global Economic and Fraud Survey 2018
The financial industry in Croatia has been severely affected by cybercrime and economic fraud, with a staggering 53% of companies falling victim to some form of fraud or economic crime over the past two years. According to the Global Economic and Fraud Survey 2018 conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), this alarming statistic represents a 26% increase from 2016.
Cybercrime on the Rise
The survey reveals that cybercrime has become an increasingly prevalent threat, affecting one in three organizations (33%) - a significant increase of almost 25% over the past two years. In Croatia, malicious software and online identity theft were found to be the most common forms of cybercrime, with:
- 35% of respondents reporting incidents of malicious software
- 27% of respondents reporting incidents of online identity theft
Serious Disruption and Cancellation of Business Processes
The report highlights that half of Croatian respondents (47%) experienced serious disruption and/or cancellation of business processes due to cybercrime. A significant number (32%) expect to experience some form of cyber attack in the future.
Lack of Awareness about Cybersecurity Programs
Furthermore, 23% of respondents were unaware of the existence of cybersecurity programs designed to prevent and identify such crimes within their organizations.
Reporting of Cybercrime and Economic Fraud
The survey also reveals that:
- More than half of Croatian respondents (53%) shared information with relevant state institutions about suspected or experienced cybercrime
- Half reported suffering losses ranging from 320,000 to 6.4 million kuna due to economic crime
- A concerning 9% of respondents suffered losses exceeding 6.4 million kuna which were not reported in 2016
Positive Trend Towards Investment in Prevention
Despite the challenges posed by cybercrime and economic fraud, Croatian organizations have shown a positive trend towards investing more in preventing these crimes. Almost every third respondent (30%) has increased their investment in combating economic crime over the past two years and plans to continue doing so over the next two years.
Different Perpetrators of Fraud
However, Croatia’s results differ from global trends with regards to typical perpetrators of fraud, according to Ivana Rapić, head of forensic services in Croatia. The PwC survey was conducted on a sample of 7,200 participants across 123 countries, marking the second time that Croatia participated in the study with 62 respondents.