Connecta 21 recap: Fraud, law and ethics – not just in online commerce

It’s part of the Connecta tradition to ensure that we also take a look at the darker aspects of digitization. Unfortunately, this also includes Internet fraud and misuse of data. The experts had a great deal to share about these topics.

Digitization and networking offer well-known benefits, such as facilitating collaboration, enabling new business models and making life easier for many people. But they also enable new types of crime. State-of-the-art technologies are making it ever easier to connect data. However, this isn’t always an advantage for users.

What about the security of online shops?

Thanks to the wide array of cloud services, any retail company can open a shop within a few minutes. For newcomers in particular, price is often a deciding factor. Far too often, entrepreneurs fail to consider the risk of relying on a service provider’s technology without assessing the quality of the solution.

This is incredible, because an online shop processes a lot of sensitive information submitted by its customers. What if the shop software contains security vulnerabilities or is insecurely configured? Adrian Wiesmann, Head of IT Security at PostFinance Ltd, discusses this problem in his article.

Blog post by Adrian Wiesmann, PostFinance

Interview with Dr Claudia Valérie Brunner, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, on the topic of white-collar crime (in German)

Fraud related to online shops is a problem for retailers

Security vulnerabilities in online shop systems make life easier for data thieves and cybercriminals. Stolen credit card information and hijacked user accounts cause double the harm to retailers. They have to deal with a loss of reputation if their shop is identified as the cause of data theft. And every online retailer has to battle attempted fraud. Not just in the form of purchases made with stolen credit cards. After all, they can also never be certain that the customer intends to pay for the goods they have ordered. The checkout is one of the most important factors for minimizing risk. Unfortunately, insisting on the secure “prepayment” method does not work in a competitive market. Daniel Gamma, Director of Corporate Sales at CRIF Ltd, describes strategies that retailers can use to protect themselves against fraud.

Blog post by Daniel Gamma, CRIF Ltd

The law is going digital, too

Legally flawless terms and conditions for off-the-shelf use? Automated declarations for customs or VAT? All these things are already possible, because digitization has even spread to the legal sector. Ioannis Martinis, Head of Legal Tech at Coop Rechtsschutz AG, introduces his readers to the world of “legal techs”. The solutions, some of which are being developed by very new companies, go further than merely simplifying companies’ procedures and processes. They also create new customer-centric services for all – making it easier for everyone to get justice.

Blog post by Ioannis Martinis, Coop Rechtsschutz AG

We need an ethical approach to handling data

Technologies such as AI systems for analysing customer behaviour and goods scheduling require one thing above all: data, data and more data. The hunger among data analysts for information that contains as much identifying material as possible runs counter to the privacy rights of the individuals concerned. And in some cases, of course, it is counter to the relevant legislation. Prof. Dr Reinhard Riedl, Head of the Centre for the Digital Society at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), calls for a responsible and principled approach to handling personal data. In short: for ethical principles when using personal data. This is also important for protecting against discrimination.

Blog post by Prof. Dr Reinhard Riedl, Bern University of Applied Sciences

Due to the current situation, Connecta Bern was held as a digital event once again in 2021. Connecta is renowned for shining a light on the diverse nature of digitization, and this year was no different, with content presented across the three formats of Connecta Blog, Connecta TV and Connecta Talk. Find out more here: www.swisspost.ch/connecta.