Brian Keegan: Vigilance on fraud can reap rewards

Firms have to secure their assets and comply with reporting obligations while not deterring genuine customers

As well as protecting themselves from attack by cybercriminals, companies are obliged to report suspicious transactions to the gardaí and the Revenue.

Criminal is too small a word to describe the attacks on the computer systems of the HSE and the Department of Health in the past 10 days.

While there is something particularly evil about attacking state institutions at the forefront of tackling a pandemic, the episodes serve as a stark reminder of just how sophisticated international crime has become.