Building digital trust amid rapid digital transformation

The rapid rise of digitization and use of cloud computing has made enterprises more vulnerable to cyberattacks than ever. In Q2 2022 global cyber-attacks increased by 32% compared to Q2 2021. One in 40 organizations have been impacted by ransomware, representing a 59% increase compared to 2021.

As the business environment becomes more interconnected through multi-cloud infrastructures, the need for implementing robust cybersecurity measures to manage and prevent cyberattacks has never been greater. Increasing cybersecurity concerns among organizations as well as at an individual level is leading to new innovations. One of them includes the concept of digital trust.

 

What is digital trust?

Digital trust determines the confidence in the entities engaging digitally. It comprises the entire value chain or process in a digital ecosystem, including end-users, mediators, and providers.

For instance, in a digital payment ecosystem, an end user is a person using the digital payment platform or the trust giver in the system. A mediator is a company providing the digital payment service or guarantors of digital trust. Finally, the companies providing digital payment technologies are providers of digital trust.

Digital trust can be benchmarked based on end-user behavior and attitudes, and the environment and experience provided by the mediator.

Building digital trust benefits all entities in the online ecosystem by ensuring:

• Positive reputation
• Low-security breaches
• Strong customer loyalty
• Reduction in cybersecurity incidence
• Increase in revenue

Companies such as Forgerock, Jumio, Refinitiv, and NEC Corp that provide digital identity and cybersecurity solutions are helping organizations gain end-user confidence. According to the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), more than 70% of organizations globally have cited digital trust programs as a major technology investment area for the next few years.

 

How are industries working towards establishing digital trust?

Government initiatives and regulations are supporting digital ID transformation and encourage companies to integrate artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and blockchain technologies in their offerings. This helps mediators and guarantors gain more trustworthiness in the digital ecosystem from their end-users.

The pandemic has fueled a tangible leap in the use of online platforms. Thus, end-users of new technologies like blockchain, e-wallets, and connected IoT devices at an enterprise and individual level are concerned about the safety, privacy, security, reliability, and data ethics of these platforms. They want to know the data security measures taken by their mediators or guarantors.

Building digital trust is a long-term investment and key requisite for sustainable digital transformation. If done right, it can shape the foundation of a future-proof sustainable business. Incorporation of security protocols at various layers of the enterprise is critical to gaining customer confidence. This can be achieved through timely transparent communication about your operations.

To build digital trust among end-customers organizations (including mediators, technology providers, and guarantors) need to deploy certain specific actions on each security segment level. Here’s a comprehensive list:

• Technology provider/Guarantors: Highly secure code building and application design (integrated security tools)
• Technology providers/Guarantors/ Mediators: Advanced analytical tools to streamline threat analysis
• Mediator/Technology Providers: Deployment of cloud-native security controls
• Mediator: Encryption of data for data processing and storage
• Mediator: Advanced identity and access management tool integration
• Guarantors: Monitoring of process through automation-led strategies

Related reading: Digital health cybersecurity: How a robust backend infrastructure can help save billions

In the current business operations scenario, there is no clear or mandated guidelines on the requirements of digital trust. Also, there is no clear implementable guidance for stakeholders to work together to build it across online channels. Government, mediators, technology providers, and digital trust guarantors need to come together to measure improvement and set these guidelines against generally accepted metrics to stable such trust. This will help reduce digital mistrust in the minds of end-users and help service-providers to prove that their services are reliable.

Digital trust is becoming increasingly important. While digital transformation is being viewed with skepticism by some given several incidents and exposures to unethical corporate practices, the demand for digital services is increasing, and we have witnessed significant adoption of digital services across sectors recently.

To know how your business can minimize risk, safeguard brand reputation and continue to earn enterprise and end-user confidence across your existing and upcoming digital transformation initiatives, check out Netscribes technology due diligence and contact us.  

Based on insights by Husen Limdiwala – Manager, Market Research team, Netscribes.