Work experience at Neotas

News broke last Friday of the arrest of a senior programmer from Israeli security firm, NSO Group, the company behind the infamous mobile spyware Pegasus. Allegedly faced with termination, he attempted to sell stolen source and development code valued at hundreds of millions of dollars on the Dark Web. He was caught after a potential … Read more

Supply Chain Transparency using OSINT In February 2017, Michael Endsor of King’s College London demonstrated how Open Sources can be used in investigations into organised crime. In particular, he noted the use of social media in criminal investigations. By studying hashtags on Twitter and Instagram he was able to discover key individuals within a London … Read more

It has been 3 years since the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in the United Kingdom, and so far it has produced mixed results. Whilst the percentage of businesses unmasking slavery in their supply chains has risen, the act is still struggling to apply serious pressure to the global companies most at risk from modern slavery. … Read more

An England team picked by Neotas would win the football World Cup. It’s a bold claim, I know, but considering recent tournament attempts, you might as well hear us out. England have suffered from a team that never seems to gel. We have had plenty of brilliant players. The “golden generation” included some of the … Read more

To many, slavery is a problem of the past. The unfortunate truth is that it’s still a global problem. Latest estimates from the UN rank modern slavery as the second-largest criminal activity in the world. In 2015, the UK introduced the Modern Slavery Act. It was the first of its kind to specifically address slavery … Read more

Like much of the world, the Neotas team is eagerly awaiting the kick off to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Millions of fans from countries all around the world will be pouring into Russia to watch thirty-two teams battle it out for the most prized trophy in football. Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat feeds will soon … Read more

In an increasing trend in British football, players are being reprimanded by the press and FA alike for historical activity on social media. In the most recent cases, the dubious online activity of a player has come to light only when they have made the news headlines for another reason – be it Shane Duffy dating Katie Price or Andre Gray’s first premier league goal – but has … Read more

Since before Neotas was Neotas, social responsibility has been central to our team. As such, we’ve developed relationships with several charities and volunteer groups. Of note, is our relationship with STOP THE TRAFFIK; a coalition which aims to bring an end to human trafficking worldwide. Three years ago, I started working for them as a … Read more

From the 22nd to 24th May, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the United Kingdom held their 5th TechSprint at Canary Wharf. The theme of the TechSprint was Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crime and following an emotive launch, the event kicked off with gusto and excitement. The event sought to increase understanding surrounding the … Read more

‘Trust is the currency of the future’, said Stuart Lacey, founder of Trunomi, at the ‘Let’s talk about RegTech’ event at Rise last night. The panel discussion centered on RegTech’s place in the world, how regulators function and meeting the challenges posed by regulation. Whilst trust in institutions was at the core of the discussion, … Read more

AML Compliance The 5th Pillar of AML Compliance – is there more data? On May 11th, the four pillars of AML were joined by a 5th. The long-awaited legislation introduces the need to identify the beneficial ownership of legal entities for consumer due-diligence. As such, US financial institutions have introduced enhanced internal customer checks and additional … Read more

The National Crime Agency released their National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime recently, and they found that Fraud continues to be the most common form of crime in the UK, with over 3.4 million incidents recorded in the last financial year. The 2017 Annual Fraud Indicator (AFI) estimated that fraud cost the UK … Read more

World Password Day In an ironic twist of fate, Thursday’s “World Password Day” was marked with the news that the passwords for all Twitter users globally had the potential to be exposed after a glitch in the company’s encryption process. Breaches of online accounts and the leaking of personal details are becoming an ever more … Read more

Schrödinger’s Personality Traits In 1935, Erwin Schrödinger stated that a cat, placed in a sealed box with a jar of poison, is thought to be both alive and dead. Only once the box is opened does the scientist know whether they have a healthy living cat or a lifeless corpse.  Imagine each recruit to a firm carries with them a sealed box. … Read more

For the most part, due-diligence consists of checks against databases (Criminal records, Credit checks, Sanctions lists etc.). This form of structured information is only half the picture. Our innovative method of conducting enhanced due-diligence regularly leads to additional insights that change how business is conducted. In a recent case, an investment house was looking to … Read more

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) for Business Risk Assessment Last Friday marked the end of my second week as the newest member of the analyst team at Neotas. We use open-source intelligence (OSINT) to give businesses peace of mind about prospective investments and hires by going far beyond standard due diligence checks. As a Physics graduate, fresh … Read more

With social media comes the ability to share anything, from thoughts and opinions to holiday photos, in real time to – potentially – anyone with internet access. And while venting on Twitter or posting a photo to Instagram enjoying cocktails on a beach may seem innocent, the possible impacts of these are not always considered. … Read more

If you’ve read our previous blog about the real cost of a bad hire then you will know that when you fail to screen your employees properly you are putting your business at risk. But what about the Senior Management in your company? In March 2016 the FCA replaced the Approved Persons Regime (APR) with the Senior … Read more

The recent Florida High School tragedy has caught public attention in many ways. In my view, one of the most profound elements of the event was the way it was initially reported to the public. School children filmed the incident on Snapchat thinking it was a hoax or safety drill. They weren’t to know that … Read more

Most of us are aware that if our social media privacy settings are not quite adequate, then our lives are open for all to see; whether it’s that drunken photo of you at university, the staff night out two years ago or maybe the questionable video of you dancing at your friend’s wedding. It doesn’t … Read more

We have been asking a number of HR professionals this question recently, and there’s a host of different answers. Broadly it falls into the following; Direct costs of sunk hiring fees (approx. 20% salary), Sunk cost of salary of a poor or disruptive performer (ask yourself, how long does it take to work out they … Read more

As we rapidly enter the festive weekend, Santa and his elves are working to finalise exactly who belongs on those naughty and nice lists. Safe in the knowledge that everyone in our office is on the nice list (**awkward glance**) this got us thinking, imagine if Santa used Neotas to help him get through the … Read more

In early 2017, New Jersey implemented an algorithm: it generates a score and gives counsel to judges. The algorithm advises them as to whether they should grant bail to detainees. This process entirely replaces bail hearings. It’s possible for the judge to never see the subject they sentence, and to never to see the effect of their judgement.   While this sounds dystopian I can recognise the benefit. An impartial, free from … Read more

In recent months, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seen a vast increase into its efficiency and advancements. The benefits of developing AI are clear, with growing software developments that are designed to save time and money into businesses. Consequently, this leaves the question: are these innovations likely to replace human analysts? The rise of “machine learning” … Read more

Recently a young woman in America was fired from her job in a Texas Bank because her engagement photos were deemed inappropriate for a “family-oriented” company. The photos were uploaded to social media by the photographer and were tasteful and professional; the man was topless with a pair of jeans on and the woman wore … Read more

Earlier this week, Andrew Parker, Director-General of MI5, made a rare public appearance to outline the severity of the terrorist threat currently being faced in the United Kingdom. Within his speech, Mr Parker said that technology firms, specifically social media platforms and operators, were inadvertently helping terrorists by not doing enough to take down extremist content … Read more

In August, Neotas reached the 6 month mark and to celebrate this milestone we thought we would share with you our journey so far – the good, the bad and the ugly (and that’s just the bosses)! Neotas went live in February 2017. With one full-time paid member of staff and one client, we were … Read more

Until recently, crimes tended to be committed away from the eyes of society and reported post-event through traditional channels. Over the past several years however, increased usage of social media platforms has seen a rise in ‘performance’ crimes in which individuals document their criminal behaviour for a public audience.  Embracing this connected society, individuals are … Read more

If you have followed the headlines published by newspapers and bloggers over the past month you would be led to believe that Snapchat’s new Snap Map feature is “going to ruin your life” and “is frightening as a privacy threat”, but what does the new feature mean for Snapchat users and should you be concerned? … Read more

I started with Neotas about three months ago having spent the previous five years in financial crime. What I have learned in this short time period has blown my mind and if I had known then what I know now, fraud investigations would be dealt with in a completely different manner. Without a doubt, open source intelligence … Read more

In 2009, while in the process of applying to University in the United States, a rumour began to circulate that universities were likely to review the Facebook pages of applicants for any disqualifying content. At the time, Facebook was still an up and coming social media platform rather than the pervasive giant it is today … Read more

I just thought I’d share some thoughts, 3 months after Neotas was born. For those of you that don’t know us, we are a next-generation due diligence company. We have brought together a collection of ex-military and law enforcement intelligence specialists along with technology and finance experts to create an analyst driven platform that uses … Read more