Improving cyber security ROI while managing risk and providing a seamless customer experience is a balancing act. With the number of hackers and criminal groups targeting financial institutions at unprecedented levels during the pandemic, strong fraud detection solutions are more important than ever.

CFOs need to invest in technology that stops fraudsters and protects company assets while still improving the customer experience. But getting it right can be a huge challenge, especially in a time when digital identity challenges continue to grow.

Leif Easterson, former CFO of Information Security and Risk Management at Citigroup, has been there. Here he draws on his experience at Citigroup to explain how CFOs can capture their total enterprise cyber security ROI and secure the funding they need.

A Wave of Cyber Fraud is Unleashed

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an optimal scenario for cyber criminals to thrive, with the financial sector seeing a 238% increase in digital crime between January and May 2020.

Sixty-six percent, or two out of every three financial institutions, stated they have increased their expected fraud forecast in light of current events. Strong banking cyber security solutions that offer a secure and frictionless client experience are more important than ever, especially as we establish the ‘new normal’.

Three trends are causing a wave of cyber fraud at financial institutions.

Account Takeover

Account takeover fraud has grown amidst the pandemic and remains a significant problem. As the increased reliance on digital services grows, fraudsters are targeting more victims while flying under the radar as some businesses have temporarily lowered their security barriers to provide an optimal customer experience.

Remote access tools (RATs) have understandably seen a significant increase as people are logging into their work computers remotely. But how many remote access sessions to financial accounts are genuine and how many are being done by cybercriminals using malicious RATs?

Social engineering

Social engineers prey on human trust to bypass security solutions and the latest scams seen since the outbreak of Covid-19 are no different. 55% of security professionals cited phishing as the most prominent threat to organizations. Capitalizing on high levels of public fear and the extensive spread of misinformation, cybercriminals are crafting highly-effective phishing campaigns that trick users to hand over personal information, download malware or execute fraudulent transactions.

Synthetic Identity Fraud

Synthetic identity fraud costs companies billions and is a contributing factor to the rise in new account fraud. By combining stolen personal data with fabricated information, fraudsters create entirely new identities that are difficult to track. In fact, 85 – 95% of applicants identified as potential synthetic identities are not flagged by traditional fraud models.

Behavioral Biometrics - Unlock Immediate Cyber Security ROI

Not only does fraud have a direct cost in dollars lost, it also results in operational expenses and lost business due to frustrated customers. Financial institutions must offer an enhanced customer experience while still complying with privacy standards and regulatory requirements. All these factors come into play when calculating cyber security ROI.

BioCatch’s behavioral biometrics technology eliminates direct fraud losses and reduces indirect losses caused by customer friction. Behavioral biometrics do not rely on PII (Personal Identity Information) to verify users. Rather, the technology analyzes human-device interactions to provide powerful behavioral insights for deeper and more robust fraud detection.

The biggest differentiator from other fraud prevention solutions is that behavioral biometrics secures sessions from log in to log out, providing continuous monitoring and analysis. If a fraudster is able to bypass the login process, behavioral biometrics will detect human or non-human cyber threats within a session in real-time.

Banks have already seen tens of millions in savings by implementing behavioral biometrics. Behavioral biometrics realizes cost savings by:

Actual fraud costs are often much less than friction-related costs. Replacing passwords and two-factor authentication with behavioral biometrics makes for a seamless customer experience. By keeping customers happy, financial institutions increase customer retention and growth and gain an edge on their competitors. 

How much can you save by using behavioral biometrics to reduce fraud and create a frictionless experience? BioCatch’s ROI calculator uses real data about your organization to help you choose the best fraud prevention solution and demonstrate to company leaders the value of modern information security investments.

Check out CNN’s Inventing Tomorrow series to see how behavioral biometrics is powering the digital future.

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