One risk solutions firm has observed conflicting trends amid record-highs in attack rates: a sign that are preparing to change tack…
In an analysis of 79.8bn digital identity transactions processed by a cyber risk solutions firm’s user base for the period January to December 2022, the global digital attack rate was found to have increased 20% compared to the same ecosystem in 2021, with sizeable spikes in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) and in LATAM and North America.
However, the data also reflected a drop in attack rates generally fell in Q4, although this trend varied by region.
Other key findings include:
- 77% of all observed transactions analyzed were mobile transactions — a record high for the user base. Also, 82% of all mobile interactions were via mobile app channels.
- 31% and 29% upticks were observed in the financial services and e-commerce industries respectively, including the communications, mobile and media industries.
- A 27% increase was noted across digital payments across all desktop and mobile channels YOY. In APAC, a 50% YOY increase in payment attack rate was observed. Yet, a 27% reduction was noted in the overall attack rate YOY, possibly suggesting that criminals may be changing focus or are regrouping for future sophisticated attacks.
- A 127% increase in automated bot attacks in the e-commerce space in the US part of the user base. In the US gaming and gambling industries, bot attacks had increased by 112%, notably with sector growth due to legalization in more states.
According to Stephen Topliss, Vice President, Fraud and Identity Strategy, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which published the analysis: “Relying on multi-factor authentication alone as a defense is inadequate in today’s digital world. Organizations, industries and countries must collaborate and identify the interconnected signals of complex fraud attacks because criminal networks working in a structured way are here to stay. Addressing the latest scams requires targeted machine learning models that can consume the latest digital intelligence insights, behavioral biometrics signals and mule account indicators.”
