Mobility has changed the world of biometrics in an enormous way this year, with the inevitable marriage of biometric fingerprint sensors and an iPhone model. This was not the first time the functionality had been implemented on a consumer device, but the fact that it had been done in such a high profile manner, catapulting the very idea of post-password security into the actual hands of a massive segment of the public, created new segments and niches to be filled not only by fingerprint biometrics providers, but companies that provide all kinds of strong authentication methods. Contributing editor Maxine Most proposed a new model of the mobile biometrics market landscape on Wednesday in a webinar.
Among the audience questions addressed at the end of the online presentation was one concerning the place that voice recognition has in the newly defined world of mobile biometrics. Maxine proposed a near future in which all forms of biometrics play a role in the mobile experience. Voice recognition is an obvious fit for this, specifically in a passive capacity often referred to as an invisible security factor.
Fonetic is employing this invisible solution on the financial end of things with its Dodd-Frank Trading Record Keeping Compliance Solution that leverages the already recorded vocal transactions users have made and constantly runs in the background, ready to flag any suspicious activity that might indicate fraud.
Invisibility is a term that can apply to a number of passively measured biometrics: voice, keystroke or walking gate being the more common ones. It can also be used to describe a new kind of high security wireless network that, if ValidSoft has its way, will be standard practice in the healthcare and financial services industries. The company was granted a UK patent for Dual SSID technology that will have authorized devices issued credentials on a visible wireless network that allow it to access a private, highly secure, invisible network on which critical transactions can be performed.
This kind of solution is meant to help in implementing efficient BYOD policies in workplaces that are resistant to the use of personal mobile devices due to the highly sensitive material being dealt with. BIO-key International is also focussed on making this efficiency a reality in the confidential workplace, partnering with AMD to encourage the implementation of fingerprint biometrics enabled BYOD and secure online transactions.
Mobility is being called the primary reason behind BIO-key’s success in 2013. The company reported its Q3 financial results and has found itself in a strong financial position, most recently completing a private direct placement worth $3.7 million this week.
In fact, mobility is not only behind the individual successes of biometrics companies, it is also responsible for fostering a spirit of collaboration. Natural Security announced this week that it has formed the Natural Security Alliance for the expressed purpose of creating open standards for wireless and mobile authentication. The freshly launched alliance already boasts an impressive membership which includes some high profile organizations from FIDO: MasterCard and Oberthur Technologies.
All in all it has been a week that more than anything has reinforced the idea that mobility is not just bringing us to the end of the password, but also driving collaboration and innovation in ways that go far beyond simply replacing a four digit pin with a swipe sensor.
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