The recent Equifax breach of information from 143 million Americans is certainly concerning, but unfortunately, breaches of data are not new news. Since 2005, there have been over seven thousand breaches totaling a billion records according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. The logical conclusion Americans must make is that our data has been breached and is in the market. Criminals can access identities as they are batched, bundled, packaged, and sold on the dark web like consumer goods. We call these breached identities “Perfect Identities” because of the depth and accuracy of the stolen data.
As we know with Equifax and future breaches, there will be even more identity data supply for fraudsters to buy, sell, and criminalize. And as more information is available, fraud has gotten more sophisticated with the reaction among many companies to increase friction in validating identities. And yet the quest for reducing friction and escalating only when necessary is intense, with the proven knowledge that low and no effort experiences equals a better consumer experience and a competitive advantage. Further, we are fooling ourselves, if we believe even with all the publicity on the breaches, consumers will still not require a smooth onboarding or purchase path without friction.
Our experience tells us today’s threat environment requires modern companies to have an intelligent, multi-layered approach that pulls together an array of location, activity, device, digital, and other identity attributes to validate customers. With more sources and honed algorithms, flexible, dynamic, and durable validation methods legitimate identities can be validated in an invisible, silent way while still protecting the privacy of the individual. In that process, if potential fraud indicators arise then escalation can occur to higher level of authentication. We believe in operating the identity verification process with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer.
And as criminals share and collaborate so must enterprises. A consortium data network of intelligence shared across businesses and industries acts as another safety layer. Operators of contemporary systems also need the ability to tune and adjust custom settings in real-time as fraudsters fluidly change up their attacks schemes.
Our premise and the direction that IDology is focused on is to validate legitimate identities dynamically and in an invisible, silent way while still protecting the privacy of the individual. One that combines layers and collaborative networks to move forward legitimate customers with as little friction as possible.
PS: We all need to be proactive in protecting our identities. The number one step you can take to protect your identity is to freeze your credit. Do yourself a favor and freeze it today!
