Page 161 - Cyber Defense eMagazine January 2023

Alternatively, hashing has enabled simple comparisons, but the problem is it is easy for criminals to
circumnavigate these checks. In trade finance fraud, for example, a fraudster trying to hide duplicate
financing can easily use different purchase order numbers or change data across documents to make
them seem different and evade searches for matches or similarities. Firms need technology that is fit for
purpose and able to detect the more complex tactics that criminals deploy.

Customer financial data is highly sensitive and must be kept private and secure. Unfortunately, locking
data away in silos creates blind spots for malicious actors to evade detection by freely maneuvering
between institutions and across borders. Banks and financial institutions use Duality to shine a bright
light on the dark shadows of data silos by allowing them to collaborate on customer data while preserving
privacy.

A privacy-first approach

If financial institutions could have the privacy and security guarantees that ensure the protection of their
data and customers, as well as regulatory compliance, they would be more open to sharing information.

A new approach has emerged – leveraging privacy enhancing technologies (PETs). The term covers an
array of technologies, including homomorphic encryption, which allows financial institutions to perform
computations on encrypted data without ever decrypting. This means they can share and analyze
sensitive data without revealing the underlying information.

The data itself remains decentralized so it does not move across parties. Homomorphic encryption also
means the firm’s customer relationship is never revealed and any answers cannot be attributed back to
a specific financial institution, thereby preserving competition.

Mitigating risk will remain a top priority for financial institutions and PETs have emerged as valuable tools
in organizations'’ armories. Ultimately, these technologies are paving the way for firms to collaborate in
new ways and finally unlock the value in their data – and this could prove to be a major game-changer in
the fight against financial crime.

About the Author

Dr. Alon Kaufman, CEO and Co-Founder of Duality Technologies. has 20
years of experience in the hi-tech arena, commercializing data-science
technologies, leading industrial research and corporate innovation teams.
Prior to founding Duality, he served as RSA’s global director of Data Science,
Research and Innovation. In addition to his leadership experience, he is
accomplished in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning and how
they interplay with security and privacy, with over 30 approved US patents in
these fields. He holds a PhD. in Computational Neuroscience and machine
learning from the Hebrew University and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.Alon
can be reached online at https://dualitytech.com

Cyber Defense eMagazine – January 2023 Edition 161
Copyright © 2023, Cyber Defense Magazine. All rights reserved worldwide.