MDS Adds New Fraud Detection Features to Lavastorm Analytics

Published: December 13, 2011

by Alex Woodie

The growing prevalence of fraud in the telecommunications space, such as identity spoofing and cloned SIM cards, has prompted MDS Lavastorm Analytics to beef up its analytic power tool with new fraud-fighting capabilities.

Lavastorm is a powerful analytic application that allows users to model, understand, and control how business processes and data flow through disparate systems in corporate environments. It's commonly used in the telecommunications space, including by its sister company, Martin Dawes Systems, which runs a major IBM i billing system in an outsourced manner for clients in Europe.

While Lavastorm has long been used to detect the signs of fraud and criminal activity in business applications, the increasing rate of fraud reported by MDS Lavastorm Analytics' customers in the communication service provider (CSP) industry necessitated a more formal approach to fraud fighting, and more powerful fraud capabilities in the software.

Much of this fraud is related to the boom in mobile computing and social media. SIM card cloning has been a problem for a long time, but the smart phone boom is putting added pressures on CSPs. Other examples of fraud in the telecommunication space includes: fake subscriptions; abnormal usage fraud; IMEI and IMSI stuffing; interconnect bypass; PBX fraud; dealer commission fraud; and good old internal fraud.

To that end, the company updated its Lavastorm platform with an additional management layer that's designed to uncover fraud. The new fraud features give CSPs a single interface that allows managers to review call detail records and other event data, such as data from switches, billing systems, and rating systems. The software also brings new workflow and case management functionality.

"With the rapid pace of the telecoms market today and the ever-evolving fraud threat, businesses need agile and robust systems to be able to share information and identify patterns easily across the business," states MDS CEO Drew Rockwell in a press release. "Speed is of the essence in reacting to fraudulent activity and the updated Lavastorm Analytics Platforms enables businesses to act on accurate, in-depth information faster than ever."

RELATED STORY

Lavastorm: An Analytic Power Tool for All Seasons

                     Post this story to del.icio.us
               Post this story to Digg
    Post this story to Slashdot