Tackling Cyber Fraud
This project sought to examine and present a new model for tackling cyber fraud in the UK.
With support from Huntswood and Gadhia Consultants, RUSI led a cross-cutting, multidisciplinary research project which sought to influence how law-enforcement agencies and financial institutions understand and define their long-term roles and responsibilities in tackling cyber-enabled fraud. In doing so, we combined the expertise from RUSI’s Cyber, Organised Crime and Policing, and Financial Crime research teams. The review explored innovative strategic models that could significantly reduce the threat from cybercrime and improve national cyber security over the next decade and beyond.
First, the team published a landscape review as a Briefing Paper in July 2020. After gathering a large amount of primary data, the team published the final paper. The Occasional Paper, released in February 2021, calls for a new UK cyber fraud strategy that is genuinely co-created with key stakeholders outside government.
Aims and objectives
Cyber fraud has reached a magnitude that is impossible for law-enforcement agencies to handle alone. This research sought to assist policymakers, law-enforcement agencies and financial services companies to build a better model for tackling cyber fraud.
To structure our research, we sought to answer the following questions:
- Where should law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) focus their efforts to more effectively tackle cyber fraud in the next decade?
- How will the private sector need to tailor its approach to more effectively contribute to the effort against cyber fraud in the next decade? What methods exist for engagement and what behavioural barriers are there to further engagement?
- Where do the roles and responsibilities of the private sector and law enforcement intersect in relation to cyber fraud? How are these affected when the victims concerned are financial institutions?
- How can citizens assist law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and Financial Institutions (FIs) in more effectively addressing cyber fraud? What measures are needed to improve citizens’ awareness and understanding of individual responsibilities?
- What are the tools and techniques that the private sector can utilise in order to meet upskilling challenges presented by cyber fraud?
Project outputs
Access past event content and key publications produced as part of this project.
