OneSpan: Driving Cybersecurity Needs Amid Firmer Regulations

In attendance at MoneyLIVE Summit 2024, we spoke to OneSpan Director of Product Management and Business Strategy, Frederik Mennes, on why it is so important for enterprises to take their cybersecurity efforts seriously today, particularly with incoming regulations on the horizon mandating stricter security measures across Europe. 

OneSpan is a global cybersecurity company focused on strong authentications for users of digital banking applications. 

As well as banking solutions, OneSpan also focuses its cybersecurity efforts on other enterprises. However, banking is OneSpan’s core market, an industry that faces many security and compliance threats today. 

OneSpan: Addressing banks’ needs to meet new regulations

“In the European Union, the upcoming regulatory update, PSD3, will require banks to invest in inclusive authentication across their customer base,” says Mennes.

“PSD3 will not only require banks to use mobile device as a means of authentication, but other modes will be required too. So the need for banks to scale this to be compliant is a big thing.”

Other regulations are coming into force across all industries too – tied not just to banks – but a broad range of sectors. NIS2 and DORA are two examples of stringent regulations coming into force across the EU that will mean many enterprises need to scale their security efforts.

Indeed, the rate of fraud is on the rise too, so the need for banks to meet the cybersecurity demands of today are there, regardless of regulations. 

“Some of the key types of fraud today include account takeovers, whereby a fraudster tries to steal your credentials, accessing your account to steal your money. This kind of fraud is the most abundant, and the key issue we try to solve at OneSpan,” adds Mennes.

There are new types of fraud on the horizon too, as Mennes explains. “Authorised push payment fraud, where fraudsters will trick you into transferring money over is a big emerging threat. Romance scams, investment scams and impersonation scams all fall under that category.”

Solving these highly relevant issues of banks and enterprises today is where OneSpan’s multi-factor authentication solutions can help, providing its customers with dynamic password tools with a short validity to greatly reduce the risk of fraud. 

“We also provide MFA technology based on hardware tokens that you can carry in your pockets or based on mobile apps that you can instal on your phone,” adds Mennes. 

OneSpan: Plans for future growth 

As the need for services such as those provided by OneSpan grows – with new regulations on the horizon – so too do its plans for expanding its range of products and security features. 

“Currently, we’re heavily focused on workforce authentication,” notes Mennes. “This includes authenticating employees, contractors and people working for enterprises, especially in critical sectors. 

“So we’re hoping to scale our client base in these sectors where we’ve invested a lot, where we’ve developed specific products to address needs there – and we hope this can be a significant area of growth for us.”

As previously noted, OneSpan’s growth comes as fraud continues to rise at alarming rates. It is one of the key issues for banks and businesses today. 

Mennes concludes: “Today, figures from authorities across a range of countries show that authorised push payment fraud is out of control. 

“It's increasing rapidly. But thankfully regulation is forcing banks to do something about it. In the UK, there is the Contingent Reimbursement Model, which came into effect last year, requiring banks to put countermeasures in place to reduce fraud. 

“Now we are going to see more regulations come into effect, and OneSpan will be there to support both banks and enterprises in countering the dangers of fraud today.”

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