A survey carried out by the Compliance Institute has found that cyber-crime is considered the most prevalent financial crime in Ireland.

The organisation, which works with professionals involved in the areas of compliance and regulation, surveyed 230 compliance professionals working in financial-services organisations.

Cyber-crime – including hacking, phishing, and online scams – was found to be the most prevalent financial crime by 34% of respondents.

Tax evasion and fraud were next, with both named by 21% of those surveyed, while 19% identified money-laundering.

Fast pace

The Compliance Institute’s CEO Michael Kavanagh said that cyber-crime was advancing at a pace so fast that organisations and legislators could not keep up.

Kavanagh welcomed Government plans, announced last year, to create a national anti-ransomware organisation, and offer subsidies to small businesses to help fight cyber-security threats.

“The timelines for this are unclear, but there’s no doubt that the move would be laudable, and welcomed with open arms by many businesses that continue to be plagued by ransomware attacks,” he said.