Executives cite information theft as rising global threat.

• Author: Ladd, Scott
• Position: FRAUD - Report

Corporate fraud continues to be predominantly an inside job, with the number of information thefts being committed by employees on the rise, according to a new study.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The recently released Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, a study commissioned in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, surveyed more than 1,200 senior executives worldwide and discovered that about half of all companies described themselves as moderately to highly vulnerable to information (heft--up from 38 percent in 2010. Information technology complexity was blamed by 36 percent as the cause of increasing fraud exposure, compared to 28 percent in the previous year.

For the second consecutive year, the fear of fraud is keeping nearly half of companies surveyed from becoming more global. Corruption and bribery were increasingly cited as impediments to more robust global business Activity--particular in emerging economies, with fraud deterring 15 percent of businesses from operating in Africa, 10 percent in China and 9 percent in India.

Companies, however, seem unprepared to deal effectively with corruption as only 27 percent of respondents said they are well-prepared to comply with regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United Kingdom Bribery Act.

Information-based industries continue to report the highest incidence of theft of information and electronic data. These include financial services (29 percent), technology, media and telecoms (29 percent), health care, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology (26...