Fraud , Insider Fraud , Insider Threat

Bank of the West's Pollino on Why Covert Monitoring Is the Wrong Approach Tracy Kitten (FraudBlogger) • July 5, 2016     David Pollino, deputy CISO, Bank of the West

Bank of the West's new approach to insider fraud deterrence is focused less on detection, more on keeping employees from committing fraud in the first place. Deputy CISO David Pollino says a "noisy" insider fraud program is actually more effective at reducing risk than covertly monitoring employee activity.

See Also: How to Illuminate Data Risk to Avoid Financial Shocks

"By people understanding that they're being watched, it sometimes changes their behavior - and it changes their behavior in a positive way," Pollino says. "And by changing the environment - creating an environment where there's more visible monitoring that's going on and employees know there's accountability for their actions - that can change behavior and can really help keep the good employees continue to be good employees, and not convert them into the accidental fraudster."

According to recent research about insider fraud trends conducted by Bank of the West, 6 percent of insider fraud incidents are caught by accident, while only 1 to 2 percent are caught by behavioral monitoring.

So rather than hiding surveillance cameras or the installation of software designed to track an employee's behavior and movement on the network, install cameras in plain view and tell employees that their activity is being tracked, Pollino says.

Being "noisy" about the fraud program that has been implemented could deter an otherwise good employee from being tempted by a chance to steal from the organization or its customers. And that's the overall goal of any well thought-out insider threat program, he adds.

In this interview at ISMG's recent Chicago Fraud and Breach Prevention Summit, Pollino also discusses:

Why deterring employees from committing fraud much more effective than catching them in the act; How Bank of the West is approaching insider-risk mitigation; Why proactive prevention of fraud committed by so-called accidental fraudsters makes such a difference.

Pollino has been with Bank of the West since 2011. Previously, he served as manager of online fraud prevention strategy and analytics for Wells Fargo and was the online risk officer for Washington Mutual. Pollino conducts ongoing research on cybercrime techniques.