What is happening around us in this day and age where the internet is accessible to a considerable population of the world? What futuristic software and API can we deploy to overcome and curb the alarming crimes? The solution to this is electronic know-your-customer — also known as eKYC
In this composition, we will be writing about the dangers, ways to prevent and implement tried and true systems in your business, and private practices to achieve a safer and more assured environment with the use of electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC).
The Current Situation
Home Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Hamzah bin Zainudin expresses that cybersecurity remains to be one of Malaysia’s main concerns.
“Many of our current and emerging threats involve new technologies that were unheard of even a decade ago. At the same time, today’s national security landscape is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Keeping up with these changes is one of our region’s biggest security challenges.” – FMT
We live in an ever-evolving world. In a generation where the internet is accessible even in remote areas of the world. Hackers and cybercrime are on the rise, especially with the access to FREE courses which are easily accessible and offered online. These groups practise their knowledge by preying on companies with weak to faulty cyber security systems – even beginner hackers are capable of stealing millions of ringgits worth of data to be used in their malicious schemes.
According to techtarget.com a report from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has warned that blended threats are on the rise. Approximately USD$500,000 (RM2.26m) in cryptocurrency from a North Korean ransomware group, Maui, was recently seized. The tracked payments were found to be linked to a series of payments made through cryptocurrency laundering services in China.
On the same note, here is another example of cybercrime which was carried out where a group of hackers who introduced themselves as TA4563 were leveraging Evilnum malware to carry out email campaigns as recently as last December, targeting financial establishments. These hackers would attempt to deliver Word documents which enabled phishing attacks.
Just hours ago, it was reported that within a year of launching its latest variant, Lockbit Ransomware group augmented yet another variant of ransomware. This time around, the variant also comes with Blackmatter capabilities.
Rooting on these three examples alone, it is sufficient to say that you are in deep trouble if you are in any of the BFSI industries but have weak cyber security to protect and back up sensitive data. Tarnishing the good name and establishment of any branding or company, the integrity, and trust of your clientele will decline. A company’s stocks would crash when hacking takes place. Businesses face billions of dollars in losses and to top it off, troublesome legal cases will come to the surface. How do we mitigate such losses and issues? Is there a dire need for your company to step up on its security? The answer is yes, and this comes with urgency.
Why is it important to have strong cyber security?
Cyber security is important mainly because it has become a common occurrence. Take banks and financial institutions for example. Every year, banks and financial institutions face major losses in the range of billions of ringgits due to cyber attacks. It is reported that cybercrime is to cost the world USD$10.5 trillion (Approximately RM47 trillion) annually by 2025. Not only does cybercrime cause major losses in monetary terms it also causes a breach of trust. The reputation, productivity, and progression of a company are also affected in such instances.
How do we overcome these cyber threats?
In the past, BFSI industries required an arduous trail of the paperwork process and long processing times in order to ascertain the identity of an individual. As most of the authentication is done manually, a higher chance of criminals successfully escaping authenticating systems is no surprise. A twin may easily take on the identity of another twin, and strangers may even pose as family members with the ease of use of enhanced photos and software which are readily available online to photoshop documents and the horror goes on.
One of the ways forward is none other than eKYC. What is eKYC? Simply put, it is the software used for onboarding customers. The following examples can be, and are currently being used to deliver eKYC services:
- API
- Build-in software
- SDKs
- Cloud SaaS
- Open Source codes
To identify the authenticity of an individual’s identity, (thus protecting BFSI industries from fraudsters, scammers, hackers, and cybercriminals alike), eKYC is widely used as a probable way to protect the integrity and security of an organisation or establishment — in a way where; the identities of individuals will have to go through vigorous scanning and thus vetting out the cybercriminals from individuals who genuinely exist in real life.
Let’s say, for example; you are about to onboard a customer. There is no certainty whereby a customer is truly genuine or if they are merely posing as a client, but with an ulterior motive. In such instances, we may incorporate eKYC into our businesses and corporations.
How does eKYC work, and what are the different options available?
Innov8tif Solutions provides an array of eKYC products and services which will help spearhead the level of security and privacy to help achieve the pivotal needs of a company’s interests. eKYC provided by Innov8tif Solutions will put customers through a multi-level security scan.
How does it work?
The use of OkayID OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Scan enables your app to support capturing the identity document (ID) details by scanning them from a smartphone camera. NFC Scan enables the retrieval of the passport bearer’s details from the hidden chip embedded into an ePassport, without the need for any additional device(s). In some countries, a national ID is embedded with a smartcard (also known as a chip). One such example is Malaysia’s MyKad.
OkayFace uses Real-time Facial Sighting in substitution for passwords as well as providing Multi-factor Authentication. OkayFace is powered by a facial verification algorithm that satisfies a 0.000001 false match rate. This is further strengthened with the liveness detection component which supports financial-grade anti-spoofing techniques.
By using OkayDoc verification, the image of MyKad is automatically scanned and some tests are run on each submitted ID card image, to check against conformance with some document authenticity attributes. This strategy helps your back-office reviewers to spot and focus on borderline cases. Face recognition technology is used to pinpoint the exact features of individuals.
Are you interested to learn more about our EMAS eKYC products? Drop us a quick message at [email protected] or visit our EMAS eKYC API OnDemand portal.
