Anonybit Decentralized Identity Platform Breaks Down Biometrics to Thwart Hackers

A new startup is aiming to take a different approach to user authentication in the form of decentralized identity.

Dubbed ‘Anonybit’, the startup is pitching a lightweight, easy-to-implement solution for organizations in need of a strong authentication tool. It’s in the form of an SDK, which allows an organization to implement the solution in a consumer-facing app or web platform through several lines of code.

The next step is to get end users signed up. A consumer would create a profile with the company’s app or website, and the Anonybit SDK would kick in to authenticate the end user via their biometrics. That biometric data is broken down into anonymized bits (or “Anonybits”) stored across various nodes in an extensive peer-to-peer network.

This decentralized infrastructure ensures that there’s no central database for hackers to attack, and virtually no risk of any one consumer’s sensitive data getting compromised. And beyond biometrics, Anonybit networks can store keys, resolve tokens, send One-Time Passwords, and more.

The startup was co-founded by its CEO, Frances Zelazny, a veteran of the biometrics industry who previously served as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, and later Strategic Advisor, for the behavioral biometrics pioneer BioCatch. Now, Zelazny has pivoted from that passive anti-fraud platform to lead a startup aimed more squarely at active, reliable, and secure end user authentication, while virtually eliminating the possibility of the kinds of disastrous data breaches that have been making headlines in recent years.

Anonybit’s API can be integrated with other authentication platforms, and supports third-party biometric algorithms. The startup is currently on the lookout for potential partners through its website.