United Nations Ratifies UF-Created Framework To Protect People on Cash Apps

UF cybersecurity professor Kevin Butler developed the framework, which spells out guidance for countries to prevent fraud and abuse on mobile cash apps. Cash apps are the prominent form of banking in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia and can leave people vulnerable to losing their life savings.  

As mobile money services were growing at a rapid clip in the developing world 10 years ago, University of Florida computer scientists and cybersecurity experts Kevin Butler and Patrick Traynor were early sentinels, raising concerns about the lack of security that could lead to real problems for the user. 

In a 2014 study, the two professors from UF’s Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, uncovered security vulnerabilities of mobile cash apps, especially in the Global South, where such technologies were becoming essential in the absence of robust banking systems. 

Fast forward to today, Butler and colleagues developed a comprehensive framework for securing mobile money applications that earlier this year was ratified and endorsed by the International Telecommunications Union, a United Nations specialized agency, marking a significant step toward safer digital financial transactions worldwide. All United Nations member states voted to endorse these recommendations.

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