29 per cent of executives in the Middle East recognise cybercrime risk

The survey found that many respondents maintain the view that fraudulent activity is not their problem, despite recognising the prevalence of the issue in their own countries.

Nearly one in five respondents in the Middle East stated that they are willing to act unethically and offer entertainment to win or retain business. Globally, 42% of survey-takers can justify unethical behaviour to meet financial targets, with 23% of respondents in the Middle East agreeing that it is common practice to use bribery to win contracts.

With respect to due diligence, 40% of companies in the Middle East stated they are not assessing anti-corruption policies compared to 29% of respondents globally.

Michael Adlem, EY’s MENA Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services (FIDS) Leader, says that executives in the Middle East do not recognise cybercrime as a high risk. They are either very optimistic and believe their systems are more sophisticated than those globally, or there is a general lack of awareness around the subject, which is why management does not view it as a concern.

Adlem added that the fact is that fraud, corruption and criminal activity are inevitable in today’s business environment. They are however, manageable and to an extent preventative provided companies know the risks they are exposed to, risks such as cybercrime and inadequate due diligence are becoming more prevalent regionally and require serious attention from executive management immediately.