Help desk verification
Stop social engineering attacks at the help desk
DPRK-linked hackers, Scattered Spider, and other bad actors call IT help desks daily to trick agents into resetting passwords and MFA. 1Kosmos help desk identity verification replaces agent judgment with government ID checks and live biometric matching that returns a pass/fail result in seconds.
What is it?
Help desk verification confirms that a caller requesting a password reset, account recovery, or MFA change is actually the employee they claim to be before any action is taken by an agent.
Knowledge-based authentication, manager approvals, and agent intuition were never built to withstand targeted impersonation. When a skilled social engineer calls with the right employee ID and a convincing story, those controls fail.
How we help
Document verification
1Kosmos validates driver's licenses, passports, and national IDs across 150+ countries using optical character recognition and security feature checks. An optional API call verifies documents directly against issuing authorities, including AAMVA and ICAO, for cases requiring the highest level of assurance.
Biometric identity matching
Once the caller scans their document, they capture a live selfie. Built-in liveness detection blocks pre-recorded video and AI-generated deepfakes, then matches the selfie to the photo ID with +99% accuracy. Agents receive a pass or fail - no identity judgment required.
Appless caller experience
Callers complete verification from any camera-equipped mobile device or desktop with no app download or pre-enrollment required, keeping the process fast for legitimate employees.
Simple agent workflow
Agents initiate verification with a single action and receive a real-time pass/fail result. No identity judgment, no manual review, no access to the caller's personal data.
Zero PII exposure
All captured data is held in session-cached memory and deleted immediately after verification completes. No personally identifiable information reaches the service desk agent at any point in the process, reducing data-handling and impersonation risks.
Operational in 48 hours
1Kosmos deploys as a standalone solution and is typically configured for live use within 48 hours. Out-of-the-box connectors and a robust API framework integrate with existing case management and ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow, ManageEngine, Jira, and FreshDesk, making it easier for organizations that prefer an embedded workflow.
?
Financial Services
?
Business process outsourcing
?
Retail
?
Healthcare
?
Manufacturing
?
Government
FAQs
How do you verify the identity of a caller at the IT help desk?
Reliable help desk identity verification requires more than asking security questions or checking an employee ID. A caller's name, department, and manager name can be sourced from LinkedIn or prior data breaches in minutes. Strong verification validates a government-issued document for authenticity, then matches it to a live biometric to confirm the caller is physically present and matches their credential. 1Kosmos automates this with a guided self-service workflow the caller completes from any camera-equipped device, delivering a pass/fail result to the agent without exposing any PII.
Why isn't knowledge-based authentication secure enough for help desk verification?
KBA relies on information like date of birth, employee ID, and mother's maiden name that adversaries regularly pull from social media, OSINT, and dark web data brokers. Groups like Scattered Spider have demonstrated this repeatedly against large, well-resourced organizations. Biometric-backed verification closes that gap by requiring physical presence and a face that matches a government-issued document.
How quickly can 1Kosmos service desk caller verification be deployed?
The solution is typically configured for operational use within 48 hours as a standalone application. Organizations that want an embedded workflow can integrate it with existing service desk and case management platforms using out-of-the-box connectors or the 1Kosmos API framework.
Does the service desk agent see any of the caller's personal information during verification?
No. All data captured during the verification process, including document scans, selfie images, and extracted identity attributes, is held in session-cached memory and deleted once verification completes. The agent receives only a pass or fail result. No PII is exposed to the agent at any stage.
Which identity documents does 1Kosmos support for caller verification?
1Kosmos validates driver's licenses, passports, and national IDs across 150+ countries. For cases where document authenticity needs confirmation against the issuing authority, an optional API integration checks documents with bodies including AAMVA for US driver's licenses and ICAO for international travel documents.
