Nonetheless, just 19% of legal services organisations encountered identity fraud incidents last year
Deepfakes, synthetic identity fraud, fake identity document creation and other AI-powered threats have been cited by legal professionals as being among their biggest concerns, according to the Digital Identity in Business: The Threats, Impact, and Opportunities report published by document workflow provider Lumin.
Seventy-eight percent of legal decision-makers were worried about contracts’ vulnerability to AI fraud. The sensitivity of information handled by this sector, including legal filings and contracts, has amplified the consequences of identity fraud, particularly with 80% of organisations implementing e-signature platforms.
Just 10% of respondents in the Lumin study completely trusted e-signature platforms’ security. Moreover, 69% of businesses in New Zealand indicated that they were less keen to work with those who had been victimised by fraud recently, highlighting the impact of reputational damage.
A whopping 92% of legal decision-makers reported that they intended to invest in identity verification processes and technology in the next 12-24 months. However, despite the high level of concern just 19% of legal services organisations encountered identity fraud incidents last year.
Overall, 55% of New Zealand organisations were hit by identity fraud last year, with the financial fallout reaching $2.2bn a year on average.
“Preventing identity fraud is no longer just an IT responsibility. Businesses need to acknowledge that it can strike any department and must be addressed at the boardroom level. Industries have to move beyond simply capturing a signature and shift toward verifying the person signing. By evolving how we secure identities now, we can protect our reputation and our future”, said Max Ferguson, Lumin’s CEO and founder.
For the Digital Identity in Business: The Threats, Impact, and Opportunities report, Lumin obtained feedback from 1,000 business leaders in New Zealand, Australia and the US.
