In 2021 online payment fraud It grew 14% from $17.5 billion to more than $20 billion. At the same time, 46% of organizations Investigated by PwC Reported experiencing fraud, corruption or economic crime in the past 24 months, 70% of which occurred through external attacks or collusion. There are hundreds of different statistics that all make the same point. In other words, the Internet can be a dangerous place where money is traded. With the rise of remote work, new digital security concerns, and corporate information policies, your data appears to be more exposed than ever.
Cybercrime has skyrocketed over the past decade as more and more platforms create new opportunities for digital thieves and hackers to defraud and defraud at will. But data has actually taken a huge leap forward over the past three years. Of all global frauds, approximately 40% are platform frauds, or those that occur on platforms. Includes social media, streaming services, and marketplaces. Anywhere users attempt to establish trust or communicate, there is an opportunity for cybercrime to occur.
This is the unfortunate reality of Web2. It’s the wild west of data privacy.
What’s so wrong with Web 2.0?
The first thing to admit is that they probably didn’t start. The Internet was not designed to be internally secure, and it was assumed that if you were connected to a network, you were trustworthy. The World Wide Web was not designed for security; it is simply a way to make stored data accessible and publicly available on the Internet. Web 2.0 ushered in an era of platforms with millions of users consuming temporary but highly addictive services. The problem was how to make money from them. The trouble began when the answer turned out to be data and data-driven advertising.
- check – To use Web2.0, you must prove that you are who you say you are. It is generally asymmetry, it is always a deeply flawed system that relies more on assumptions and inferences than on actual data. While SMS codes, uploading IDs, or taking selfies actually do little to protect users or the platform, they do help build valuable data sets. From a consumer’s perspective, this entire premise is flawed. Our identity must be ours and can be verified online as effectively as at passport control. Web2.0 has never figured out how to make this happen, or perhaps doesn’t want to. Because giving your data back means giving up control to them.
- Data storage – Our data is not under our control. Want your credit report? You must apply. Want to know your spending? Contact MasterCard or your bank. Want to know about insurance, mortgages, and student loans? All that data is ultimately not yours and you have no choice about it. trust That they would take care of it. How many hundreds of millions of trusted people have had something like that happen to them in recent years?
- password – A cheater’s holy grail. Most of us are not good at creating, managing and remembering them, and we are lazy. Passwords are therefore an open target for anyone looking to steal our data and functionality in most large-scale data breaches.
- Inconvenience – Web 2.0 regulators have imposed tighter limits on what can be done with consumer data in an effort to rein in Web 2.0 excess. GDPR, cookie preferences CCPA, the list goes on. While there were significant benefits to consumers, the biggest impact was how inconvenient it became to use the Internet. Much of the value of regulations has been undermined because it is easier to simply click “Accept All.” Then your data will be out of your control forever.
- personification – You can easily gather enough information about your best friends or family members to create a powerful fake profile and impersonate them as a joke. But what if it’s a stranger, it’s not a joke, the intentions are malicious, and they already have your data without you knowing? Your digital identity can be secured in Web2.0 and you can create a false identity with just a few clicks.
- Value exchange is broken – The basic currency of Web2.0 is data, and the biggest spender is the advertising industry. When using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, remember that you are a product, not a consumer. Their business model relies on using your data to target advertising to you. All these platforms are cleverly designed to grab your attention and expose you to more and more ads.
Solving the problems of Web2.0 with Web3
When Web 2.0 began, no one knew where they were. Web3 is different. Apes aside, the intention to solve the problems of Web 2.0 is very intentional. Our personal data has been used and abused for too long. Web3 is about taking a stand, rooting out data abuse, finding better ways, and giving your data back so you can control your identity exactly how you want it. We are also creating a new data model for the platform to follow. Data owners benefit, and platforms and advertisers can provide services with simultaneous value.
One such solution is me. While similar protocols like Civic and Web5 attempt to identify users through better code, trustless systems, and online verification processes, Self builds trust by extending real-world verification by humans into the Web3 space, so you don’t know who you’re dealing with. You will know exactly. Trustless systems are great at controlling interactions between machines using keys, but sometimes, in fact most of the time, you need to know who has the keys, and that’s where Self comes into play. We use Web3 technology to connect humans to keys. The technologies they rely on have solved the following problems:
- check – You authenticate yourself when you sign up for the app, and this self-authentication allows you to access affiliate services without handing over any data.
- password – No password, only biometrics
- Inconvenience – By supporting the concept of regulation, Self makes the web frictionless again.
- data storage – All identifiable information is encrypted on your device in a highly secure app. Nothing is kept on your own network.
- personification – impossible. Only you can verify yourself and your credentials. No one can identify you unless they have physical access to you and all of your documents.
- value exchange – Services have to pay a small transaction fee to communicate with you, and over time you earn a portion of this. Imagine getting paid to give a company access to your data!
verdict: Web 3 – The End of the Wild West
By owning and controlling data about us, we can shift the balance of power over data in Web 2.0 platforms. Being able to fact-check in real time helps prevent fraudsters from stealing from us and the people we care about, and simplifies and removes friction from the web experience by controlling and democratizing communication. Barbed wire ended the Wild West. Platforms like Self, Civic, and Web5 are deploying technology that, once it begins to gain traction, will remove cybercriminals from the equation like barbed wire did for cowboys.