The Only Guide You Need to Understand Screen Scraping (Capture)

Screen scraping is the latest 'buzzword' in the hyper-dynamic world of technology. Unfortunately, it is almost always misinterpreted as data scraping. But this is one of those classic cases where 'all fingers are fingers, but not all fingers are the same.'

Screen scraping is a method of extracting all data from a digital display used for various purposes. In other words, screen scraping helps extract the actual display data from a specific user interface or file.

What is the difference between screen scraping and data scraping?

The goal is the same: finding and extracting data. The data source is slightly different. That is the difference. Data scraping has a broader scope. It extracts and collects data from anywhere on the World Wide Web. On the other hand, screen scraping is specifically used to extract information from a specific digital display. So, why do we need screen scraping?

The scope of screen scraping is extremely broad and multifaceted. It can be applied in a wide variety of areas where data copying is needed for various purposes. In the financial services sector, some of these applications are:

• Data aggregation and using personal transaction information for machine learning. This can help predict defaulters and prevent bad debts.
• Providing third-party applications access to this data to build a consumer behavioral journey and digital mapping.

The Big Question: Is Screen Scraping Legal?

Some large financial institutions have expressed major concerns about their consumers sharing personal financial data with scrapers, although regulators do not object to this practice. In other words, it is not illegal.
 
Scraping services actively involve clients sharing bank credentials so that screen scraping algorithms can read their bank account and transaction history across the banking and financial industry. This is a double-edged sword. You must be doubly sure that the scraping service adheres to security guidelines and regulations.

So you can be sure that your privacy will not be compromised by companies wanting to sell your data to marketers. Scraping services should conduct quarterly due diligence audits and use credential encryption.

How Does Screen Scraping Actually Work?

Screen scraping is the automated use of a specific web page or document that acts like a web browser to extract user data that is typically done manually. It is used on the Internet to enable many other applications to interact with third-party algorithms.

For greater clarity, consider a service called Third Party Payment Service Provider (TPP) that asks the client which bank they are associated with, otherwise known as Account Servicing Payment Service Provider (ASPSP). Then it records their login credentials. The services use these credentials to log into the client's banking portal and retrieve the required data. The entire user history, bank statement, recent transactions. Everything at their disposal.

This has indeed driven the growth of the FinTech industry as we know it. It helped them obtain data for regression models, map consumer behavior, and create a more robust system for understanding the economy at a granular level. And these are just a few. Screen scraping is the latest and cleanest way to penetrate and gain access to user financial data.

What About the Risks?

Although screen scraping is widely recognized as the number one method for collecting financial data, it has its share of limitations:

1. There is a need to store private data accessible to scrapers
2. The scraper does not just crawl and collect data; it impersonates the user by logging in, reproducing and tracking their actions. This is how the data is collected. This can be considered a privacy violation on many levels. The scraper must enter the username, password, and a piece of memorable data just as the user would. The imitation is perfect. And to facilitate this, the password is no longer available in unencrypted form. There is a huge risk of these credentials being leaked to any vigilant third party. Although no cases have been reported so far, there may be many unreported cases. It will take years to remedy this damage. Not to mention that clients use similar, if not identical, passwords on all encrypted platforms. The damage would be irreparable.

How to Address These Issues?

A major part of this effort is to teach internet users to look for signs of security and encryption. For example, they can be taught to look for the padlock symbol that indicates a secure connection, or to check the URL they see in the address bar to ensure it is the one they intended to visit.

This underscores the importance of educating anyone interested in internet security and understanding the fine line between a website that engages in phishing and a screen scraper that accesses data for the common good.

Despite these minor issues, do we still need screen scraping? The answer is an unequivocal yes! The pace of technological advancement has a serious downside that people rarely talk about. Technology becomes obsolete just as quickly! Software and applications become difficult to maintain after some time.

What seems like a minor issue becomes a very costly affair! Companies across all continents spend billions of dollars on IT. To better illustrate this, in 2022 companies spent over $3.5 trillion on IT. A huge portion of these funds is usually allocated to maintenance. Keeping existing operations running consumes most of the budget.

But now, in contrast to maintenance, enterprises are migrating their applications to cloud services. These legacy systems can be a major cause for concern for many reasons. Integrating old architecture with new applications is no easy task.

Fortunately, screen scraping enables exactly that: seamless integration of old and new with less reliance on large budgets to cover operating expenses. Despite all this, screen scraping is a buzzword for good reason. All you need is a high-quality scraping service to help you navigate all the legal intricacies.