Industry News

Data breaches costing UK £4bn per year

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Credas Technologies, the leading identity verification checks provider, has revealed that identity theft is the driving factor behind more than 28 million data breaches across the UK since 2013, breaches that cost the nation close to £4 billion each and every year.

On a global level, it is estimated that there have been close to 10 billion digital data records stolen or breached since 2013. The UK ranks fifth when it comes to national total data breaches, with over 140 million files stolen or breached in this timeframe, trailing just the USA, India, China, and South Korea.

Across the UK, this equates to an average of 28 million data breaches per year, which is estimated to cost the UK £3.7 billion on an annual basis.

One of the most common motivations for data hacking is identity fraud and the latest data from the National Fraud Database (NFD) shows this fraudulent practice accounts for 63% of all cases of fraudulent conduct. What’s more, cases of identity fraud across the UK have increased by 22% in the past year alone.

With id fraud rising so dramatically, how do companies and individuals avoid falling victim to data hacking criminals? The most important thing is to know exactly what the warning signs are and what you need to be looking out for.

Warning signs of identity theft

Missing Documents

Sensitive documents which hold personal information – such as a passport or driving licence – are incredibly valuable to identity thieves. If you discover that any such documents are missing, there is a chance that someone is using your personal information to make purchases or take out credit cards or loans in your name.

Missing Mail

In a similar vein, if you notice that bank or credit card statements are not arriving through the post, it might indicate that someone is intercepting your mail and stealing the sensitive information held inside.

Unrecognised items on bank statement

Very few people make a point of studying their bank statements each month, but with identity fraud on the rise, it’s more important than ever to do so. Each month, go through your statement and if you spot any transactions that you don’t recognise, contact your bank or credit card provider immediately. They will then help you figure out what’s going on and put a halt to any illegal activity that might be taking place.

Duplicated claims

If, for example, you apply for state benefits and are refused on the grounds that you already claim such benefits, it’s important that you look into the situation rather than ignore it because there’s a chance that someone else has applied and is receiving benefits in your name.

Solicitor letters

If you receive letters from solicitors, debt collectors, or bailiffs, etc, chasing money that you are sure you don’t owe, it can indicate that someone else is running up debt in your name. The same applies if you receive a court summons that you aren’t expecting.

Unexpected deliveries

If you receive deliveries that you have not ordered, it might suggest that someone else is making purchases with your money, especially if the delivered items are expensive, such as a laptop, television, or smartphone. Someone may have ordered the item using your name and bank details and simply forgotten to change the delivery address or intercept the package.

Tampered bins

Finally, if you notice that your rubbish or recycling bins have been tampered with, it might be that someone has rummaged through them in search of discarded documents that contain sensitive information. To avoid any such risk, it’s important to shred or destroy sensitive documents before throwing them away.

Tim Barnett, CEO of Credas Technologies says

“All of the most important financial elements of our lives are now handled online. We have passwords and logins for everything from our current accounts to our pension pots and we also apply for new bank accounts, mortgages, rental properties and more online.

While this brings great convenience, it also leaves you vulnerable to criminals and today, the lengths these criminals will go to are advancing at a faster rate than some businesses and organisations are improving their digital security.

Companies big and small need to make sure they’re doing all they can in the fight against online criminality and while that starts with ensuring they have a robust and unbreachable tech infrastructure, it also involves verifying the identity of consumers before they have the opportunity to infiltrate our society.

This is really the absolute minimum that should be done and with many companies choosing to do this manually, it allows far too many to slip through the cracks, enabling them to conduct criminal activities at ground level.”

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Industry News

SKS365 keeps investing in people: GROW People Management Program took the next level

Published

10 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

11 experienced people managers from the SKS365 group’s 4 locations gathered last week in Belgrade for the new GROW People Management Program. From 15 th to 19 th of April, through trainings, discussions, and social connections, people had the opportunity to further grow individually and as a team, while enjoying Belgrade’s city center and rivers.

Created in 2023 with the purpose of building foundation people management skills across the organization, GROW initiative evolved this year by including a new, advanced program for experienced people managers to further consolidate their skills and prepare for future opportunities.

Building and fostering connections, sharing experiences, and enjoying team building experiences – all these activities have been part of the GROWpmp agenda for the 11 people managers coming from Commercial, Product and Development, Finance, and Sportsbook departments of the group’s 4 locations – Malta, Italy, Austria, Serbia.

GROWpmp included a variety of topics that people managers in SKS365 recognized as the key areas for management development. Topics such as influence through communication, team effectiveness, DEI, through to presentation skills and business topics like understanding finance and management reporting, were delivered with the support of external professionals and internal experts, while designed and organized by the SKS365 People & Culture team.

Industry News

Kindred’s Share of Revenue from High-risk Players Shows Slight Increase

Published

20 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Kindred Group plc’s (Kindred) share of revenue from high-risk players showed a slight increase to 3.2% (Q4 2023 3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the high-risk revenue share decreased marginally. The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions came in at 87.1% (compared to 87.4% in Q4 2023 and 83.0% in Q1 2023). This sustained trajectory in the improvement effect after interventions, observed over an extended period, serves as a testament to the strong dedication and collective efforts throughout the company. It reflects Kindred’s ongoing commitment to fostering positive change within the industry.

“We continue to see our share of revenue from high-risk players fluctuate quarter to quarter, and we are working closely with all teams across the company to support customers towards a more sustainable gambling experience. However, it is encouraging to see that our Journey towards Zero data has steadily decreased since 2020. A similar trend can be seen across the healthier gambling behaviour effect after interventions. This tells us two things: our work is paying off, but we need to continue to push ourselves to propel a sustainable progression,” Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications at Kindred Group, said.

“It was very encouraging to witness the open and transparent discussions at the Sustainable Gambling Conference in London on 20 March, where those with lived experience shared their important stories. Also, it is evident that technology is moving forward, and will provide greater opportunities to detect and intervene in the future. We hope to see more regulators engage with the industry and with experts to secure a more sustainable industry for everyone,” Alexander Westrell added.

Industry News

PENN Entertainment Names Aaron LaBerge as Chief Technology Officer

Published

21 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

PENN Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective July 1, 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Mr. LaBerge will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden.

In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of technologists and serving as the key business leader for the company’s Interactive division.

Mr. LaBerge spent more than 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, in two stints separated by five and a half years as a technology entrepreneur. He was most recently President & Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN where he was responsible for driving all technology and product development in support of The Walt Disney Company’s two media divisions. In that role, he helped set the vision and strategic leadership for how Disney uses technology to enable storytelling and innovation, drive its business, and create unparalleled consumer experiences with entertainment and sports content.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team. Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future. I know Aaron is looking forward to working with Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media,” Mr. Snowden said.

“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy. PENN Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry. I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN BET an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming,” Mr. LaBerge said.

Prior to his most recent role at the Walt Disney Company, Mr. LaBerge was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN from 2015 to 2018. At ESPN he played an instrumental role in the growth of ESPN’s consumer-facing digital media products and services – leading many of ESPN’s most ambitious and challenging projects and helping establish ESPN’s position as the leader in digital sports and innovative sports technology development. He was a key architect in the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facilities in Bristol, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; and Austin, TX, as well as data centers and infrastructure that connect those facilities around the world, as well as the technology design and development to support the launch of the multi-platform SEC Network.

Between 2007 and 2012, LaBerge was co-founder and CEO of Fanzter, Inc. – a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company. At Fanzter, he directed all day-to-day operations and led the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused internet and mobile products, ground-breaking social and commerce technologies and more.