Talking Financial Fraud and Cyber Security at the Web Summit's Money Summit

Attendees of the Web Summit in Dublin interested in Fintech had to wait until the third and final day of last week’s technology conference. Headlining the final day was the Money Summit which included an assortment of product launches, presentations and panels from members of the financial services and fintech community.

One of the more interesting talks centered around the future of financial fraud and digital security. Titled, “The Security Elephant in the Room”, the panel was composed of Pat Phelan, Founder of Trustev, Ron Moritz, CEO of BioCatch, Neil Costigan, CEO of Behaviosec and was moderated by Dermot Williams, CEO of Threatscape. Below are some of the interesting points that made up the discussion.

Fraud Goes Online – Among the panelists, the unanimous opinion was that physical bank card fraud is on its way out due to advancements of PIN and Chip technology. However, in its place is an increasing problem of online fraud. This includes theft of databases with customer information and fraudsters accessing customer accounts using Trojan viruses to infect their web browsers. The latter is a problem being tackled by both BioCatch and Behaviosec.

Although the panel included competitors, in a discussion with Ron Moritz following the panel, he stated that he believed that there is mutual benefit when rivals with innovative solutions collaborate around market education to increase overall industry awareness. Moritz explained that individual emerging technology companies can’t shoulder changes and market education alone, adding that this is especially the case when it comes to pushing standards and regulatory bodies to expand and embrace new definitions based on advancements in science and art.

Moritz summarized that continued dialogue and sharing of tasks between competitors is not only welcome but required as he stated: “There is a clear and tangible benefit to everyone when innovators work together to raise industry awareness of the Cybersecurity risks involved in the financial services and eCommerce worlds.”

money summit at websummit 2015 dublin — (L to R) Pat Phelan, Founder of Trustev, Ron Moritz, CEO of BioCatch, Neil Costigan, CEO of Behaviosec, Dermot Williams, CEO of Threatscape

Apple Pay - Panelists were asked about the entrance of non-traditional players such as Apple and Samsumg. While they weren’t discounting the innovation these firms are bringing to the payment marketplace, panelists believed that the non-traditional players represent only a small drop in the bucket of overall transactions. In addition, incumbent banks and card networks are also emerging with innovative technology that shouldn’t be ignored.

Trustev’s Pat Phelan Doesn’t Pay with Credit Cards – Arguably the most fascinating tidbit from the panel was a declaration from Pat Phelan that he doesn’t pay for online goods using a credit card. In replace, Phelan stated that he uses pre-paid disposable debit cards. His rationale is that even if the credit card companies or banks are secure with your information, it is questionable whether all retailers update their technology fast enough to protect customer information.

Alternative Financial Cards – Ron Moritz pointed out that while a credit card number can be purchased on the street for $5, a health insurance card costs $50. The rationale is that financial related companies are updating their technology at a fast enough pace to cause stolen card information to be obsolete. As a result, fraudsters are moving towards other areas where they can commit financial fraud and take advantage of lax security measures.

In this regard, Moritz cited the healthcare industry in the US as an under served sector for digital security related firms requiring important upgrades to their fraud prevention technology. While not as well-known as credit card fraud, due to high costs for purchasing medicines and conducting surgeries, healthcare fraud has become a growing problem in the US.