Problems of using digital assets in the activities of virtual organizations

It has been established that today virtual structures are the most promising forms of improving the management of an organization, improving efficiency and quality, productivity and competitiveness in a global (informational) economy. At the same time, such tendencies exacerbate the problem of unlawful and unauthorized actions of various entities that use the means of electronic information environment, including digital assets. In this regard, the object of the paper is to identify the risks of using digital assets in the activities of virtual enterprises and to determine the economic and social consequences for subjects of virtual relations.

The article presents the authors’ vision of the concept of “virtual things”, by which it is proposed to understand things (goods endowed with consumer and exchange value) created on the Internet with the help of digital technologies, acquired as a result of smart transactions and consumed in a way that meets the needs of the Internet user. These things include: file repository (disk space of the server), electronic money; electronic books, musical works and films in electronic form, radio and television programs, recorded in electronic form, computer programs and others. The authors note that behind the innocent, at first glance, activity in the world of Internet entertainment, there are certain problems associated with the uncontrollability of the processes of creation and circulation of virtual things. A separate issue concerns the participation of children and adolescents (as well as persons with limited capacity) in the purchase and sale of virtual goods. It has been established that the risks of using virtual assets are inherent not only to a consumer or a society, the virtual enterprises themselves can also become an environment for increasing cases of fraud: cyber attacks, corporate espionage and many others. In connection with the above mentioned, virtual organizations in Ukraine should strengthen security measures for interaction with third parties (agents, suppliers and customers) through corporate intelligence, verification of counterparties’ integrity, and establishment of reliable software for countering cyberattacks.

The scientific novelty of the results obtained is that the risks of using digital assets in the activities of virtual enterprises have been identified. They include the possibility of using virtual platforms for legalizing proceeds from crime; terrorist financing, etc.; shadowing of the proceeds received by the subjects of purchase and sale of virtual goods; tax avoidance; the implementation of settlement operations and the conclusion of smart contracts by persons who have not reached the appropriate age or by persons with limited capacity; the spread of fraud, including digital fraud (cyberattacks, corporate espionage, etc.).

The possible direction of solving these problems is the use of modern biometric technologies that allow controlling access to information and protecting the user from the dangers of unauthorized interference with the operation of electronic systems; verification of the integrity of counterparties, the installation of reliable software to counter cyber attacks.