January 27, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
There are barriers of adoption that need to be overcome in biometrics this year if 2014 is going to fully live up to the predictions that it is the year of consumer biometric authentication. Simplified, the most common adoption obstacles boil down to finding a balance between better security and the lowest friction possible. The very nature of biometrics makes them more secure than passwords and PINs, especially considering that the majority of end users simply don’t have the diligence, energy or education on the subject to follow best practices. Convenience on the other hand is a different story.
The consumer end user is in dire need of relief from the nightmare that has become proper password management. Convenience is the biggest selling point from a consumer perspective, and a new trend is emerging, tying the language of social media to security. Last week there was the introduction of a social network style portal for biometric single-sign-on, and today, biometric security tech company Facebanx announced the launch of its newest software solution that allows for security by way of selfie.
The solution is multifactor in nature, combining Facebanx’s face and voice biometrics to replace passwords on smartphones, tablets and PCs. According to the company the solution performs with an accuracy of 99.8 percent, measuring the user’s face metrics with a front facing camera and combining that with their voice print, captured by having the user speak aloud a four digit numerical one time password (OTP).
“By simply pointing a device’s camera and taking a selfie and then repeating out loud four randomly generated numbers, customers will be able to log into their account within seconds,” explains Matthew Silverstone, CEO of Facebanx. “This technology is incredibly accurate as it combines two different biometrics into one seamless experience.”
Continuing, Silverstone expands on the wide range of applications that the Facebanx software allows: “Our product is proving incredibly popular to organisations in the banking, gaming, healthcare and retail sectors as it provides for the first time a level playing field against cybercrime. Now criminals will not be able to use malware to simply hack into customer accounts as they won’t be able to reproduce a live streamed image speaking out loud randomly generated numbers.”
The biometric security software is undergoing a trial by an unnamed global telecom. Later this month the product will also be trialled by multi-national banks. These large scale deployments carry with them a promise of efficiency, since the burden of remembering byzantine passwords is fully alleviated by Facebanx, eliminating the entire idea of password reset operations.
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