April is Behavioral Biometrics Month here at FindBiometrics, and over the coming weeks we will be taking a deep dive into the discussion around the new and exciting biometric modality with in-depth articles, specialized news coverage, and the next entry in our renowned webinar series, Continuous Identity: Why Behavioral Biometrics Are Going Mainstream.
Behavioral biometrics are relatively new to the identity and authentication landscape, so to kick things off we have compiled the following primer to bring you up to speed on the technology that identifies based on what you do and how you do it.
The Market
In Acuity Market Intelligence’s 2017 “Ten Top Trends for Biometrics and Digital Identity”, principal analyst Maxine Most asserted that behavioral biometrics will go mainstream this year. The modality also ranked high in our 14th annual year in review, in which survey respondents ranked behavior on par with iris biometrics in terms of overall interest. And the numbers support it too: Technavio has outlined the global behavioral biometrics market’s growth between 2016 and 2020 as approximately 17 percent CAGR. Indeed, a great number of reports from various sources are heralding the rise of software-based behavioral solutions that can offer passive user authentication, especially in the realm of mobile.
The following links will give you a good idea of the disruptive potential ascribed to the behavioral biometrics market:
Acuity Predicts Mainstreaming of Iris, Behavioral Biometrics for 2017
Report Points to Ascent of Behavioral Biometrics, Persistent Authentication
Year in Review 2016: The Most Exciting Modalities
Security Pros Expect Passwords to be Replaced by 2FA, Behavioral Biometrics: Report
Nuance-BioCatch Partnership Reflects Rise of Behavioral Biometrics
BioCatch Heralds Rise of Behavioral Biometrics
Passive Authentication and Behavioral Analysis
Behavioral biometrics solutions are software-based, frictionless, and generally operate based on a simple concept: no two people act in the exact same manner, even when attempting to impersonate one another. Very small movements, rhythms, tremors, and automatic gestures that normally go unnoticed are as unique as any other biological characteristic. The difference between behavioral biometrics and modalities based on physical scans of body parts, however, is the frictionless and persistent nature of the former. If you are using a website or a mobile device, behavioral software can constantly compare your natural interactions—key strokes, touch screen motions, mouse movements, the links you click, etc.—to behavioral, physiological, and psychological templates, to ensure you are always you.
The following articles explore some of the technologies and their IP that enable authentication-based applications of behavioral biometrics:
Israeli Bank to Introduce Passive Mobile Behavioral Authentication
Patent Approval Heralds Rise of Behavioral Biometrics System
NuData’s Behavioural Biometrics System Offers Passive Authentication
BioCatch Marks ‘Banner Year’ of IP Growth
Finance
In much the same way that the financial sector embraces biometrics at large, the vertical has also proven to be the most enthusiastic about behavioral solutions. As an anti-fraud solution, behavioral biometrics technology is elegant, able to work in the background and flag users who don’t match the profiles associated with the accounts being monitored. Indeed, the proposition for behavioral biometrics in financial services is so strong that Mastercard recently announced its acquisition of NuData Security.
The following articles provide an overview of behavioral tech in finance:
Mastercard to Acquire NuData Security
Behavioral Biometrics App Wins Retail Banking Award
UK Bank Expanding Behavioral Biometrics Testing with BioCatch
IBM Dives Into Behavioral Biometrics
NuData Warns of Security Threats as mPayments Grow
War on Malware
Behavioral biometrics can tell the difference between people, but that’s not where its anti-fraud applications end; the modality can also identify malicious software. Remote access trojans (RATs) that allow bad actors to take over a user’s device, and the powerful malware categorized in the Gooligan family which allow for bot takeovers—these and other threats can be identified and dealt with simply via behavioral biometrics, since their impersonal nature can’t possibly lead to anything resembling an imitation of a proper user.
Check out the following news stories that pit behavioral biometrics against malware and cybercriminals:
Behavioral Biometrics Could Be The Answer To ‘Fileless’ Malware
TeleSign Announces Behavioral Biometrics Offering
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection Uses Behavioral Sensors
Gooligan Malware Illustrates Need for Non-Traditional Authentication
Physical Access and Public Safety
A branch of behavioral biometrics deals with the physical world. Characteristics like walking gait have long been associated under the behavioral label, and they are now being used in physical access deployments aiming for frictionless security. Such outwardly-visible behavioral characteristics also have large scale surveillance applications, in which a system can identify a user’s contextual and behavioral data for in-crowd tracking.
Upgraded IMID Platform Can Operate in Low Light, Uses Deep Learning Algorithms
Hitachi’s New System Identifies Based on Face, Attire, Age, Sex, and More
INTERVIEW: Arie Melamed, CMO, FST Biometrics
Talking About Behavior
Of course, as is the case with all new and potentially disruptive technologies, sometimes the best way to find a strong understanding is through dynamic conversation. Check out the interview below for an in-depth conversation on behavioral biometrics, and be sure to sign up for the webinar, Continuous Identity: Why Behavioral Biometrics Are Going Mainstream, for your opportunity to be a part of the ongoing dialogue about behavioral biometrics.
INTERVIEW: Frances Zelazny, Vice President of Marketing, BioCatch
Continuous Identity: Why Behavioral Biometrics Are Going Mainstream
Behavioral Biometrics Month is made possible by our sponsors: BioCatch and NuData Security.
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Stay posted to FindBiometrics throughout April as we continue to bring you featured coverage on the topic of behavioral biometrics. Be sure to follow us on Twitter so you don’t miss a thing.
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