By Thomas George From Check & Secure

Banking in the Cayman Islands is curious to say the least. For an island about the size of the Medway Towns and with a population of just 55,000 people, the beautiful caribbean landmass is home to a quite extraordinary amount of bank accounts and has a disproportionately high GDP; the “average” islander is richer than a German or a Frenchman and there are more registered companies than people.

This is due to the fact that the island does not charge corporation or income tax and as such, is a haven for companies and individuals looking to avoid the desperate, clutching arms of the HMRC, the Finanzamt and the IRS. Cayman financial institutions have achieved a worldwide renown as a byword for “tax loopholes” – loopholes that many western governments are desperately trying to close up.

This means that the banks of the Cayman Islands are holding vast amounts of money at any one time and it is fair to say that the average customer profile may vary slightly from your local post office or building society. Put into the context of cyber security, if an online criminal was able to force their way into an offshore account – at Cayman National Bank or CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank for instance – there would be a big chance of “hitting the jackpot”.

It comes as little surprise then to hear that the cyber criminals are chancing their arm, if recent phishing emails are to be believed:

“As part of our security measures, we regularly update all accounts on our database system. We are unable to update your FirstCaribbean Bank account and therefore will be closing your accounts to enable the upgrade.

“You have been sent this invitation because our records indicate you are currently a user whose account has not been activated. We are therefore sending you this mail so you can inform us if you still want to use this account.”

While reports suggest that this was more of an opportunistic stab in the dark rather than a targeted attack; the mails seemed to go to non-customers of the bank rather than personalised account or companies, but it is a warning about the potential dangers phishing could pose, especially “spear phishing” for the super-rich.

Is your company prepared for the dangers of cyber crime? Get in contact with cyscon now for a consultation.
The bank’s response has been relatively standard, with Debra King, director of corporate communications for CIBC FirstCaribbean releasing the following statement:

“We would wish to inform customers that when they receive any info by email like that they should immediately view it with suspicion. We do not ever ask customers to click through and provide any personal account information.”

While phishing may sometimes look alarming, it is a reality that cyscon and its partners have been looking to deal with for a long time. With this in mind, we – alongside other security and web partners – have created a brand new attack on the cyber criminals behind these scams.

IMAGE: Butterfield_Bank_in_Georgetown,_Grand_Cayman A Cayman Bank – Source WikiCommons

For more on this story go to: http://blog.check-and-secure.com/030915-cayman-islands-phishing-in-the-caribbean/