This article is part of Kyckr’s new Future of Financial Crime Series which will feature interviews with leading industry professionals and thought leaders to learn more about the trends that will shape the future of financial crime.
The following is an interview we recently had with Roy Zur, CEO of ThriveDX SaaS.
What is the state of financial crime today?
According to IBM, online crime and breaches have reached an average cost of 1.07M USD per attack. While a zero-trust approach and investment in AI technology has aided in reducing cost for these institutions when it comes to incident response, the cost of financial crime compliance globally is the highest it’s ever been. In other words, companies are being targeted more than ever and at the same time being regulated at an unprecedented scale globally. While this can seem daunting for those in the financial crime field, we are seeing a rise in cybersecurity training for all employees as well as skills training for those in tech.
How has financial crime evolved over the past 5 years?
Even with advancements in technology, the cost of financial crime attacks is growing. With the unforeseen pandemic in 2020, it has been extremely difficult for law enforcement and financial institutions to defend against financial crime. Seemingly accelerated by COVID-19, the proliferation of digital payments, cryptocurrency, and paranoia about the economy has skyrocketed online fraud. With the startling trends in this area of crime, it’s not surprising that rules and regulations are becoming more constrictive and cautious. Earlier this year the Anti-Money Laundering Act became a law while more recently, the US National AML/CFT Priorities required financial institutions to prioritise and minimise government identified risks. These institutions are investing in compliance more than ever before, including employee training and upskilling around data privacy and security.
What’s the future of financial crime?
When it comes to the future of financial crime and prevention, almost all signs point to technological advancements. Digital identification verifying such as facial and retina recognition is being adopted at more financial institutions to allow them to comply with KYC regulations. On the other side of the coin, literally, the digital currencies which have largely been associated with financial criminals, are being prioritised by regulators. Virtual assets will be analysed for patterns in transactional behavior, allowing machine learning and AI to become more widely used tools in the financial crime prevention arena. As we’re seeing now in 2021, regulations are expanding. This trend isn’t going anywhere and means that businesses will be required to defend themselves. Unsurprisingly, an uptick in hiring for roles around regulation and digital crime prevention will follow. The cybersecurity field, for example, has had 0% unemployment since 2016, making it one of the most in-demand careers in tech. Training and skilling in cybersecurity and crime prevention for current and future employees will continue to be a focal point for large institutions.
