LexisNexis Risk Solutions report shows increase in the digital attack rates

The recently released report involves the examination of data from 79.8 billion transactions that were processed in 2022 through the company’s internal platform, the LexisNexis Digital Identity Network.

The findings of the report showcase how the global digital attack rate has continued its ascending trend following the reopening of economies post-pandemic. As revealed in the document, despite the unstable financial climate caused by the conflict in Ukraine and inflation, in 2022, digital transactions increased by 24%. This growth was determined by the popularity of ecommerce and financial services.

Apart from a 20% increase in the rate of attacks from 2021, the report indicates a fall in the rates of attacks (for some regions) in the fourth quarter of the year. 

When it comes to the methodology used to determine the authenticity of the transactions analysed, the criteria were geolocation history, device identification, and behaviour analytics. However, it should be noted that the transactions that it used as the basis of the analysis did not come from all countries in the world. 

Significant findings of the report

The new report released by LexisNexis includes a series of essential observations:

• The cyber-attack rate is on an overall upward trajectory. Most attacks are targeted against the communications and mobile and media industries.

• Mobile transactions are seeing a rise in popularity. According to the Digital Identity Network platform, mobile transactions have reached a peak as they made for 77% of all transactions analysed.

• Automated bot attacks are trending upward. These attacks have seen a 195% growth, with most of them (around half of them) affecting US’s ecommerce and gaming and gambling industry.

• Digital payments are vulnerable, and criminals are swift to manipulate new security gaps. There was a 27% increase in attacks focused on digital payments. As the report reveals, there is a link between the growth in the popularity of payment methods and the surging of directed attacks. For instance, as the use of digital wallets, P2P payments, and QR payments increased in the APAC, the region also experienced a 50% increase in payment attack rates.

Earlier this year, LexisNexis Risk Solutions shared insights into how failed payments can affect the profitability of a business as well as ways to address this.