How one trillion events power the Sift global data network

Fraud is becoming more sophisticated by the second. As fraud fighters and online commerce experts, it’s our mission at Sift to build the best defenses possible to protect businesses and consumers from emerging and ever-expanding threats. To beat fraudsters at their own game, we’re investing deeply in our data network and machine learning to detect and block fraud before it happens. I’m proud and excited to share that Sift has reached a momentous milestone in our journey: we now process more than one trillion (1T) events per year. Our global data network is stronger than ever. 

Sift’s dedication to providing best-in-class fraud prevention doesn’t stop there. Over the past 11 years, Sift has acquired a total of 31 patents, adding six in 2022 alone. And our innovation trajectory is just beginning. We’ve set an industry-leading product roadmap, focused on extending our capabilities to help businesses prevent evolving fraud and open up opportunities for growth.

What is the Sift global data network?

Sift prevents fraud and abuse by adapting in real time based on our unrivaled network of data. This global data network represents shared signals from Sift customers across industries, regions, and fraud vectors that feed into our machine learning models. Across 34k+ sites and apps worldwide, Sift ingests more than one trillion events per year, which are categorized into 16k different signals of potentially fraudulent activity. This means our network is able to detect new attack patterns within 250 milliseconds, providing customers across the Sift network with near-instant protection. When fraudsters launch an attack on one Sift customer, that data is automatically fed into our machine learning models and blocked from impacting other customers in the network. 

Having pioneered the machine learning approach in the fraud prevention market, Sift has been receiving this data for more than a decade, resulting in the highest possible accuracy of our models. Instead of relying on a single machine learning model, we use an ensemble of several predictive models. Some models are trained with a general understanding of fraud patterns across our network of customers, and others are tuned to each company’s data specifically. This suite of models allows Sift to accurately analyze risk and provide the most effective fraud prevention solution on the market.

Why are global data networks important for fraud prevention?

Operating in the global, interconnected Fraud Economy, fraudsters constantly look for security weaknesses to exploit. This is why having a data network is so important. When one business is targeted, those fraud signals are automatically shared across the network to prevent other companies from falling victim. For companies that don’t have access to machine learning or global fraud data, working with an online fraud detection (OFD) vendor with a global data network can be a game changer. The more organizations that band together in the fight against fraud, the more effective each of their prevention tactics will be. There’s no denying that safe and secure platforms make for the most successful businesses. 

As Gartner® states in its 2022 Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection: “The ability to share threat intelligence about confirmed fraud cases across a vendor’s entire ecosystem is something that all OFD platforms should have. Vendors unable to share threat intelligence across their entire network are at a significant disadvantage, compared with those that can. Organizations seeking OFD solutions should ensure that confirmed fraud events impacting their region and industry can be shared, learned and stopped in real time across a vendor’s entire network.”*

How does Sift’s global data network help businesses?

Based on insights from our global data network, we know fraudsters rarely target only one business or industry. Our Fraud Intelligence Center shows just how connected fraud is across industries. By illustrating the number of shared fraud signals between verticals, we can see how fraudsters infiltrate different industries using the same tactics, or take stolen credentials from one site to attack another. 

Sift’s growing data network and product innovations provide online businesses with a complete platform to protect against fraud across the entire lifecycle. Because of this robust infrastructure, Sift is designed to withstand high-velocity events without causing undue friction to a business’ legitimate users. We support our customers throughout their peak volume seasons, including retailers on Black Friday and iGaming/gambling companies during major sporting events.

It’s through these make-or-break events, market expansions, and brand transformations that we’ve built trusted partnerships with our customers. We partner with brands across every industry and region to quickly block fraud, streamline operations, and smoothly expand into unchartered territory. Our technology drives accurate results that surpass industry standards, so businesses can focus on enabling growth instead of mitigating losses.

Get more recommendations on how to navigate the fraud detection landscape in the Gartner Guide for Online Fraud Detection.

*Gartner, Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection, Akif Khan, Dan Ayoub, 12 December 2022