BioCatch Encourages US to Adopt a More Dynamic Definition of Identity

Endeavor Worldwide CEO Patrick Hearn has written a guest article for BioCatch that details some of the shortcomings of the US government’s approach to identity. The article specifically takes issue with static identity information like date of birth and social security number, which is often readily available to those who would use it for malicious purposes.

In the article, Hearn makes the case that identity has become far more multifaceted, especially when it comes to digital security. People are defined not only by fixed indicators like their name or their hometown, but by a complex set of behaviors that are unique to the individual.

That’s why behavioral biometrics is rapidly becoming the new security standard for financial institutions and private corporations around the world. Unlike Europe, the US government – and particularly the NIST’s Digital Identity Guidelines – does not yet consider risk-based analytics to be a valid form of authentication, and still uses static information to handle the tax system and the distribution of government benefits.

According to Hearn, the result is a highly vulnerable government system that incurred more than $100 billion in losses in 2016 alone, numbers that would infuriate shareholders and trigger corporate upheaval if they occurred in the private sector. The government, on the other hand, tends to shrug and point to outdated regulatory standards.

In Europe, Strong Customer Authentication is part of the incoming PSD2 requirements. BioCatch is arguing that the US government needs a similar overhaul, one that prioritizes behavioral biometrics to better protect the personal information of its citizens.  

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September 13, 2019 – by Eric Weiss