February 27, 2007

Insider fraud -- innocent client networking or excessive liposuction?

Insider fraud is like an evil twin of security. From the "it could be you" department...

There has been an internal feud at the company for some time between joint owners Kevin Medina, CEO, and John Naruszewicz, vice president, which culminated in a February 12 lawsuit.

Naruszewicz sought, and received, a preliminary court injunction preventing Medina from accessing the company's funds. Naruszewicz claimed that Medina had been using corporate money to pay for a life of luxury, at the expense of the company and its customers.

Among the allegations were claims that Medina has used Registerfly's money to pay for a $10,000-a-month Miami Beach penthouse, a $9,000 escort, and $6,000 of liposuction surgery.

Many "security people" from the new, net-based culture only discover what older value institutions have known for centuries -- and then only when it happens to them.

The overall lesson that we need to bear in mind is that the twins should be kept in balance: cover the external security to the same extent as the internal security. Security proportional to risk, in other words, as having perfect security in one area is meaningless if there is a weak area elsewhere.

That's a case from the computer industry: It could be you... We can imagine that it all started out as an innocent need to network with some important clients.

(Note that the unsung hero here, the VP who challenged the fraud, will probably never be rewarded, thanked, or protected from counter-attacks.)

Posted by iang at February 27, 2007 10:28 AM | TrackBack
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