The Importance of Verifiable Identity: A Global Perspective
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Blog Post: Combating Synthetic Identity Fraud
This Month
The Importance of Verifiable Identity
With International Identity Day being this month (September 16), we thought it apt to focus our September newsletter on the fundamental importance of having verifiable proof of identity. On a global level, trusted identities facilitate the flow of goods, services, and people across borders, helping bring countries together and reduce geopolitical tensions.
Identity is essential to accessing education, employment, financial services, and much more. But creating trusted identities and combating fraud remain a challenge. The current state of digital identity is more of a patchwork of differing credentials across the private and public sectors, leading to the proliferation of digital identities and wallets – reminiscent of the early days of the password. Convenience concerns aside, this fragmented approach to digital identity isn’t instilling trust either, with 12% of users of digital services being the victim of identity fraud last year, according to a 2023 study by Onfido, an Entrust company. Add in disruptive technology forces like AI, biometrics, and quantum computing, and it’s well past time to reimagine the future of trusted identity.
To delve into the opportunities, risks, and differing approaches shaping the future of trusted identity, we hear from Simon Horswell, Senior Manager and Fraud Specialist at Onfido, an Entrust company, and Greg Wetmore, VP of Software Development at Entrust, in this podcast episode. They discuss the impact of AI and quantum computing, along with the role of governments, standards bodies, big tech, and more. Listen Now
Institute Feature
What is Synthetic Identity Fraud?
With reliable, trusted identities becoming a foundational requirement for many to access an array of services today, the need to protect those identities is pivotal in preventing fraud – particularly synthetic identity fraud.
Unlike a fake identity, which is completely fabricated, synthetic identity fraud is the combination of real identity credentials (e.g. a person’s Social Security number) with false identity information (e.g. a fake name and address) to create a new, fabricated identity. Fraudsters can then use this synthetic identity to apply for credit, make purchases, access government services, secure employment, and so on.
Simon Horswell, our fraud specialist, provides his insights into how deepfakes and other fraud technology – as well as personally identifiable information (PII) exposed through data breaches – are fueling this growing phenomenon and shares what organizations can do to protect against these threats. Watch Video
More Institute Insights
Combating Synthetic Identity Fraud
Last month we covered how, as the post-quantum (PQ) era dawns, we’ll inevitably see the breaking of conventional encryption. And we’re already seeing how some bad actors are collecting encrypted data now with the intent of accessing the information when it can be more easily cracked open (so called “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” attacks).
For those seeking to commit identity fraud, many of these data sets could be a goldmine of personally identifiable information (PII) – on top of the data breaches already out there today. The other accelerant of synthetic identity fraud is AI, which simultaneously increases the ability to scale highly targeted attacks with deepfakes and lowers the skill level required.
In their most recent joint blog article, Jenn Markey, Advisor for the Entrust Cybersecurity Institute, and Simon Horswell outline the scale of this threat, as well as different types of synthetic identity attacks – including identity manipulation, identity compilation, and identity fabrication. Read Blog Post
The Stats
Estimated number of adults globally who don’t have a legal form of ID. Source: World Bank
The growth of synthetic identity fraud between 2019 and 2023. Source: TransUnion
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About the Entrust Cybersecurity Institute
The Entrust Cybersecurity Institute offers insights and education for IT and business leaders charged with protecting and growing their organizations. Learn more at entrust.com/cybersecurity-institute.
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