The exponential increase in cyber crime is taking a significant toll on South African organisations. According to the SABRIC Annual Crime Statistics 2023 report, the digital banking sector experienced a 45% increase in reported fraud cases. Concerningly, there was a significant surge in fraud related to banking applications, which saw a year-on-year increase of 89%. These crimes are sophisticated, the methodologies pervasive and the risk to industry and individuals is rising consistently. Companies within the financial services industry are facing a wave of evolving and intelligent threats built on the foundations of artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated techniques that are catching their customers and systems off guard.
These threats are equally pervasive within other digital interactions. As Daniel Isaacs, Chief Commercial Officer at Comcorp, explains: “In the insurance industry, threat actors are using social engineering tools to gain access to policy documents, changing profiles and beneficiary details, or altering banking details and submitting false claims. Similarly, hackers in other sectors are infiltrating customer profiles, altering banking details and withdrawing funds from digital wallets.”
Organisations need equally sophisticated solutions capable of protecting customers and systems from attackers. As Isaacs highlights, it is becoming incredibly important to ensure that the correct person is opening, accessing or managing an account.
“Password resets and contact detail changes are sometimes less protected than other areas within the customer journey,” he continues. “Fraudsters are targeting organisations at these touch points, particularly around password resets. They access the e-mail addresses and passwords linked to accounts from data leaks, and then lock people out of their accounts while transacting on their behalf.”
Password resets have become a huge threat. As a Forbes Advisor study found out earlier this year, 46% of respondents had their password stolen over the past year, 68% had to change their password across numerous accounts, and 30% think their password was stolen because they used the same password on a number of different accounts. The survey also found that e-mail, online shopping, financial services and entertainment services were the most common targets for password hacks.[1]
“The challenge here is that companies need to ensure that they are providing the right levels of protection on their side as well,” says Isaacs. “Have they authenticated that these changes are being requested by the correct person? Considering the sheer scale of data leaks over the past few years, it’s very easy and likely that hackers will have access to customer credentials, so companies need to shift their thinking to accommodate for this risk and reimagine how they protect their customers.”
Organisations need to implement a security door that stops the threat at the start, which is where Curata, Comcorp’s biometric authentication solution, comes in. A threat actor can have all of a person’s digital access information but they won’t get past the biometric front door.
“When faced with a biometric platform asking for facial proof of identity, most hackers will turn around and try another door,” says Isaacs. “Biometrics place a hard stop at the entrance to the system. Facial recognition technology helps institutions layer their fraud prevention strategies. Implementing this solution gives institutions the comfort that only the real customer is accessing their profile.”
Facial technology adds a measure of security that significantly reduces the risk of fraudulent access and protects customers and companies throughout the onboarding and account recovery processes. Curata, designed to allow customers to authenticate and verify themselves in real-time using biometric facial recognition matched against the South African national population register, puts both customers and companies in control of their security.[2]
“It is,” concludes Isaacs, “a smart way of combating fraud, reducing downstream costs and ensuring security compliance. It prioritises people. Your customers have additional peace of mind while your business remains secure and protects its reputation and assets.”
[1]https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/american-password-habits/
[2]https://www.comcorp.co.za/biometric-authentication/#:~:text=Curata%20allows%20your%20customers%20to,given%20%E2%80%93%20for%20100%25%20compliance.
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