Criminal activity threatens UK business, expert warns Conference

09 November 2005

CEOs and boards need to be vigilant about the threats posed by a global organised crime industry that has the capacity to be able to bring down firms at will. For while the audit process can effectively identify financial risks, UK businesses of every size are at risk from the activities of cyber criminals, including digital fraud and extortion. That is the message DK Matai, Chairman of bespoke online security firm mi2g, will deliver to delegates at tomorrow's (Thursday 10 November) CIMA Annual Conference in London, as global organised crime is estimated to have a gross annual profit of between US$1.25 and $1.5trillion per annum - roughly equivalent to the GDP of the UK.

The warning from Mr Matai will come as he joins an expert line-up of economists and business leaders at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants' annual conference. It also coincides with a prediction by the mi2g Intelligence Unit that there is a growing requirement for governmental intervention to protect economic targets, in the face of an almost doubling of hacking incidents every three months, which have moved away from government departments to focus on SMEs and large corporations.

Speaking at tomorrow's CIMA conference, Mr Matai will tell delegates: 'With as much as 25 per cent of organised criminal activity operating behind the safety of a nominally legal business, and identity theft, denial of service, phishing scams and credit card fraud all rising, organised and cyber crime is an issue with the potential to affect businesses of every size in the UK. That means criminal and extremist groups have the capacity to bring a small, medium or large business down at their will and boards need to beware.'

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For interviews, photographs and further information please contact:
Lynda Hardy Maskell
Chief Press Officer, CIMA
020 8849 2347
lynda.hardymaskell@cimaglobal.com

Notes to editors

1. CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is a leading professional body that offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy, focussing on accounting in business. It is the fastest growing UK based membership body, in terms of members, in both the UK and worldwide and is the voice of over 150,000 members and students in 156 countries. CIMA is responsible for the education and training of management accountants who work in industry, commerce and not-for-profit and has more members in the public sector than any other UK based body. CIMA prides itself on the commercial relevance of its syllabus, which is in tune with the activities of high performance organisations, and evolves continually reflecting the latest developments in global business. It is committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of members and students, and to maintaining public confidence in management accountancy. For more information about CIMA, please visit http://www.cimaglobal.com/
2. mi2g is at the leading edge of building secure on-line banking, broking and trading architectures. The principal applications of its technology are: 1. D2-Banking; 2. Digital Risk Management; and 3. Bespoke Security Architecture. For more information about mi2g, visit: http://www.mi2g.net/