Hacking corruption in the digital era

The report argues that data analytics, AI, and digital government services are critical for detecting fraud and reducing the opportunities for bribery. It emphasizes that emergency responses to crises like COVID-19 are particularly vulnerable to corruption, necessitating open-data procurement and digital payment systems. The document recommends that businesses adopt sound data governance and that governments accelerate the digitalization of high-risk bureaucratic procedures to eliminate arbitrary discretion.

• Advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming essential tools for anti-corruption by enabling the rapid detection of suspicious financial flows and high-risk transactions through the cross-referencing of big data and public databases.
• Emergency responses to pandemics and natural disasters are highly susceptible to corruption due to the suspension of standard procurement rules and the rapid deployment of vast resources, which can lead to price gouging, bribery, and collusion.
• The digitalization of public services reduces 'petty corruption' and solicitation risks by automating bureaucratic procedures, limiting face-to-face interactions with officials, and eliminating arbitrary discretion in transactions such as tax payments and business permits.
• Blockchain technology has the potential to create corruption-resilient public records and government transactions by providing an unalterable audit trail, with specific use cases in land registration, identity management, and public contracting.
• To improve global business integrity, institutional investors and credit agencies should explicitly integrate corruption and data governance risks into their investment policies and sovereign risk assessments.
• The rise of the digital era has introduced new cybersecurity threats and cybercrimes, including the use of crypto assets by organized crime for money laundering and the increase in ransomware attacks against governments.

APA

Santiso, C. (2020). Hacking corruption in the digital era. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GFC_on_Transparency_and_AC_Agenda_for_Business_Integrity_pillar_3_2020.pdf

Chicago

Santiso, Carlos. Hacking corruption in the digital era. World Economic Forum, 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GFC_on_Transparency_and_AC_Agenda_for_Business_Integrity_pillar_3_2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Santiso |first1=Carlos |title=Hacking corruption in the digital era |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=May 2020 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GFC_on_Transparency_and_AC_Agenda_for_Business_Integrity_pillar_3_2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{santiso2020hacking, author = {Santiso, Carlos}, title = {{Hacking corruption in the digital era}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GFC_on_Transparency_and_AC_Agenda_for_Business_Integrity_pillar_3_2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }