Concerns raised over holiday cybercrime attacks. Concerns raised over holiday cybercrime attacks. (Source: Shutterstock)

Two cybersecurity reports paint a dreadful end-of-the year picture: one forecasts major data breaches fueling a holiday retail cybercrime spree; the other suggests financial institutions on the hook for any incidents.

Fraud increased 30 percent overall in the third quarter 2019 and bot-driven account registration fraud is up 70 percent as cybercriminals test stolen credentials in advance of the holiday retail season, according to "The Q4 Fraud and Abuse" by San Francisco based Arkose Labs, which provides a platform combining telemetry with an adaptive step-up challenge to identify bad actors. The study provided insights into the cybercrime ecosystem and how criminals are preparing for large-scale digital commerce attacks in this year's last quarter.

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Michael Ogden

Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.