Threat models
Gary Kao
Payment Village @ DEF CON 33 · Day 1 · Payment Village
In his talk at Payment Village, Gary Kao provided a comprehensive exploration of the intricate relationship between risk and payments across diverse industries. Titled "Threat models," the presentation delves into how financial incentives fundamentally drive decision-making in these critical business functions, often shaping the very survival of companies. Kao highlights that while payments teams typically focus on increasing conversion and introducing new options, and risk teams aim to minimize fraud and chargebacks, their ultimate alignment must be on the overarching financial health and longevity of the business.
AI review
A competent practitioner survey of payments fraud economics across four verticals, delivered by someone who clearly lived these problems. Solid industry experience, but the talk is fundamentally a well-organized overview rather than novel research — the kind of thing that belongs in a payments onboarding curriculum, not a conference program.