A new security technology better than passwords or fingerprints?

The future. That’s what many experts are seeing in behavioral biometrics – a technology that exceeds passwords and fingerprint sensors in secure authentication. Instead of a one-time biometric scan, behavioral biometrics learns the user’s behavior over time. Speed of typing, pressure on the keyboard, speed of scrolling, common errors – all this information is analyzed quietly in the background while the user goes about their normal activity.

Hackers now cost the U.S. economy as much as $600 billion annually, with the number of identity fraud victims up 18% in 2015, affecting 15.4 million Americans. Major financial institutions are already using behavioral biometrics to fight back. For example, banks can use behavioral biometrics to analyze user behavior on online credit card applications, helping to prevent stolen identities. Banks are using behavioral biometrics for improving authentication of online purchases, reducing the number credit denials caused by false positives (when the bank mistakenly believes you’ve been hacked).

Behavioral biometrics will be very difficult to hack because it’s hard to steal one’s behavior. Hackers are already at work trying to write scripts that mimic human behavior. However behavioral biometrics is extremely adept at picking out scripted or automated behavior. One recognized drawback is when a user’s behavior typing habits change. A user with a hand injury could become locked out of their account.

Besides the benefit of enhanced security, the overall convenience provided by behavioral biometrics is undeniable. Instead of the user having to remember changing usernames, passwords and pin numbers, the device simply remembers the user.

So where is the future headed? Nimrod Vax, co-founder of the privacy management firm BigID in New York believes “artificial intelligence is the next frontier for all aspects of identification and privacy.” However, he adds “The password is like a pencil – it’s always going to be there.”

This technology could kill passwords and even fingerprintsensors

  

Kari Paul, May 2, 2017, article for MarketWatch.com