• Online payment fraud increased 14% in 2021, reaching over $20 billion.
• 46% of organisations reported experiencing fraud, corruption or economic crimes in the last 24 months.
• Web2.0 platforms created new opportunities for cybercrime, but were unable to provide effective identity verification solutions.
Rise of Cybercrime
In 2021, online payment fraud grew 14%, from $17.5bn to over $20bn. At the same time, 46% of organisations surveyed by PwC reported experiencing fraud, corruption, or economic crimes in the last 24 months, with 70% of those coming via an external attack or collusion. There are hundreds of different statistics that all mark the same point: the internet can be a dangerous place where there’s money changing hands.
Threats Faced by Remote Workers
When you compound that with the rise of remote working, new digital security issues and corporate information policies have surfaced as data appears more exposed than ever. Cybercrime has surged over the last decade, as more and more platforms create new opportunities for digital thieves and hackers to scam and swindle at will. It is thought that around 40%, though likely more, of all global fraud is platform fraud originating on social media, streaming services and marketplaces – anywhere that a user can attempt to build trust or make communications there is an opportunity for cybercrime to take place.
What Did Web 2.0 Get So Wrong?
The Internet was never designed to be secure internally; it assumed that if you were on the network you could be trusted nor was The World Wide Web designed to be secure – it was just a way of making data stored for public consumption on The Internet accessible. With Web 2.0 came vast numbers of users consuming often ephemeral services which needed monetizing; this led companies relying heavily on data and advertising based on said data which opened up many potential vulnerabilities for cybercriminals who could exploit them without any difficulty due to inadequate identity verification solutions provided by web 2.0 companies .
Data Privacy & Security Issues
Our identity should be ours and it should be possible to verify our identity online as effectively as we do at passport control- but web 2 never figured out how to achieve this without giving away their control over our data meaning we suffer from asymmetric & deeply flawed systems which rely more heavily on assumptions & inference than actual data such as SMS codes , uploading IDs ,or taking selfies which do little protect us but they do help build valuable datasets .
Conclusion
Web 2 brought along with it much convenience but also numerous threats when it comes to cyber security due its inability to properly provide sufficient identity verifications solutions leaving consumers vulnerable & exposed despite various attempts at protection through SMS codes etc . As technology advances so must our understanding & implementation of secure methods otherwise we shall remain stuck in this increasingly insecure world wide web .