Biometric authentication is a hot topic in the world of identity verification, and capabilities become increasingly powerful with every new iteration. Depending on the application, biometric authentication technology allows users to verify their identities via geolocation, social media accounts, fingerprint, iris scan, and/or even facial recognition.
While the technology is becoming more and more prevalent across industries, its adoption on the consumer side has been arguably spearheaded by the mobile phone. Fingerprint technology was initially used to confirm identity and unlock the phone, followed by facial recognition.
Often, the most difficult part of successfully launching consumer-facing ID theft tech is convincing users to adopt the tech if it requires a change in their usual behavior patterns. It is worth noting that – as with fingerprint ID functionality – consumers will likely first be made comfortable with facial recognition through repeated exposure and use of it on their smartphones. Only after the feature is vetted and becomes mainstream will organizations likely roll it out as part of their own ID-verification processes.
Recent technological advances in smartphone cameras and machine-learning models mean facial recognition and document scanning can now be used to verify people remotely and at scale. In short, when creating a new account on an online service, users take a picture of their government ID and the application compares the picture with that of the person taking the picture. By using facial biometric authentication, users no longer need to associate a password with their account.
KEY CAPABILITIES
Unspoofable Biometrics
When enrolling with BlockID, the user performs an advanced form of biometrics called a liveness test. This biometric identifier eliminates any risk of facial spoofing, which is the task of creating false facial verification by using a photo, video, mask or a different substitute for an authorized person’s face. The liveness test is then leveraged for authentication.
Private Key Storage
The user’s private key is stored inside the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) / secure enclave of the user’s device. The secure enclave is a secure coprocessor that includes a hardware-based key manager, which is isolated from the main processor to provide an extra layer of security. The key data is encrypted in the secure enclave system on a chip that includes a random number generator.
BENEFITS
High Accuracy
Biometric authentication systems rely on the use of unique physical traits to recognize people swiftly, consistently, and reliably. They have already become crucial for identity verification in a wide array of government organizations, banks, and financial institutions.
Since biometric characteristics cannot be easily spoofed or stolen, biometric systems present a superior level of security than usual means of authentication, such as passwords. Biometric authentication technology offers high accuracy for identifying individuals, such as employees and customers.
Convenience
The behavioral and physical elements accessed for biometric verification like iris/retina, voice, pulse, DNA, vein, etc. are less in danger to damage and sudden changes. This makes biometric verification a consistent and stable form of identification.
Biometric authentication is also fast, user friendly, hard to falsify, inexpensive and requires virtually no user training because it accesses distinctive features of the individual to recognize them for accurate verification.
Multiple Use Cases
Biometric technology is already used for voter registration, national ID, national healthcare, and e-passport in various countries around the world and can be readily applied in a wide variety of industries and applications.
For remote user access and card not present transactions, biometric authentication turns out to be one of the best and most suitable solutions for authenticating users. The primary use cases are identity verification for new account creation, security logins to prevent account takeover, and securing transactions from financial fraud.