IBM's new services zero in on fraud, financial crime

IBM has introduced new software and services to help organizations use big data to address financial losses caused by fraud.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based firm says that $3.5 trillion is lost every year to fraud and financial crime. To combat these problems, IBM has launched its "smart counter fraud" initiative, which includes software and services based on over 500 fraud consultants, 290 fraud-related research patents, and the investment of $24 billion in to IBM's Big Data software since 2005.

IBM says these new services can detect a number of criminal activities, including tax evasion, money laundering and cyberattacks, as well as internal company threats. For example, IBM's counter fraud portfolio could be used by a bank to more accurately detect money-laundering activities to meet regulatory compliance, or an insurance company could more quickly and effectively review claims in real-time.

The new portfolio includes technology provided by recent acquisitions, including Cognos, i2, SPSS, Q1 Labs, Trusteer, and SoftLayer.

Trusteer's solutions have been deployed in tens of millions of systems, all of whom are now IBM customers.

The new software and services include:

• Counter fraud management software: The combination of IBM's Big Data and analytics capabilities will "help organizations aggregate data from external and internal sources and apply sophisticated analytics to prevent, identify and investigate suspicious activity," according to the company.
• The evaluation of an organization's counter fraud capabilities to improve enterprise-wide protection.
• The construction of organization models and technology architecture to better detect fraud, and respond and investigate exposures.
• Custom counter fraud programs that are scalable.
• IBM's counter fraud intelligence task force, "Red Cell," which will research trends, develop strategies and improve the software as new threats emerge.
• Fraud discovery assets: Customizable assets that use analytics to discover fraud, waste, abuse and errors in systems. These assets focus on medical fraud, insurance claim fraud, tax fraud and occupational fraud.

Robert Griffin, vice president of IBM Counter Fraud Solutions commented:

"With today's news, IBM is applying many of the same tactics, techniques and procedures used by the intelligence and law enforcement communities to help commercial organizations take a holistic view of this growing and pervasive threat. These technologies allow organizations to move and adapt at the speed of threat in ways that human beings simply can't. Our new initiative puts Big Data and Analytics into the hands of those tasked with defending their organizations from financial losses, protecting the brand and delivering exceptional customer service."

Counter fraud as a service is also on offer and is a subscription-based program which includes hosting, application management, behavior modeling and analytics.

IBM says that "data is emerging as the world's newest resource for competitive advantage," and by harnessing it correctly, businesses can make better decisions, create value, and protect their brands more effectively.

This story originally posted as "IBM launches services to tackle fraud, financial crime" on ZDNet.