Fintechs Prioritise Cybersecurity as Global Threat Increases
Increased focus on fintech ID security solutions
To combat these issues, fintech and insurtech companies are increasing their cybersecurity protection through new and better ID solutions.
According to the Aite-Novarica Group, 47% of Americans experienced financial identity theft in 2020 and the number is increasing by more than 40% YoY. Juniper Research also recently reported that Online sellers will lose $130bn to online payment fraud between 2018 and 2023.
As Tom Thimot, CEO of authID.ai, a provider of secure, mobile, biometric identity verification software products, puts it, the situation will not improve unless users successfully change the behaviors that leave them vulnerable to cybercrime attacks.
He explains, “Here’s the hard truth: Often, hackers succeed due to individual and enterprise behaviours that leave users vulnerable to exposure. Despite the prevalence of phishing, smishing, password spraying, and other common cyber infiltration techniques, consumers and organisations continue to engage in risky password behaviour.”
Poor password management, he agrees, is a huge contributing factor. “Using “password” or “12345” as your password will unfortunately no longer suffice. Likewise, many organisations have jeopardised employee and customer data – and their own digital assets – by relying on outdated identity authentication solutions to keep them safe.”
Instead, Thimot suggests two identity authentication mainstays. “One-time SMS pin codes (OTPs) and knowledge-based authentication (KBA), can no longer outsmart digital bad actors. The former can be rerouted, and even the most novice hacker can easily surface the answer to “What’s your mother’s maiden name?”
He concludes, “Cyber threats, and the investments in security required to overcome them, are top of mind, yet solutions cannot compromise ease-of-use and efficiency. Facial biometrics has already proven to be the worthy rival that can prevent hackers from wreaking havoc, and the market is making its excitement known. The future of cybersecurity is already here, and it’s password-less.”
Gloss