Biometric authentication without any extra hardware
Colleges have embraced Biometric Signature ID
24 March, 2014
category: Biometrics, Digital ID, Government, Health
When it comes to online authentication the goal is to make it easy, secure and inexpensive. The expense can often be tied to adding hardware or software that the consumer uses, so that in a perfect world, nothing else would be required.
Biometric Signature ID is going this route, offering an authentication service that can be done with only a mouse or track pad. Users enroll by drawing numbers or characters into boxes using either their mouse or track pad. There’s an additional enrollment factor that’s captured as well where users click an on-screen keyboard to enter a password.
BioSig-ID assesses the passcode’s pattern of length, angle, speed, height and number of strokes, storing the information in an encrypted database. By comparing this data to the data collected by the user’s subsequent logins, BioSig-ID confirms that the person who registered is the same person trying to access service. Only the same user who successfully authenticates against a previously created enrollment profile can proceed.
The technology is being used to authenticate students accessing online classes and tests, says Jeff Maynard, president and CEO at Biometric Signature ID. The technology is being used in 53 countries and all 50 U.S. states for student ID verification. Universities need to comply with the revised Education Act, meaning that institutions with online courses must now have a process to identify that the student that signs up and takes an online course is the “real” student.
The system captures more than just the gesture biometric, Maynard explains. “We collect all sorts of information around the authentication event and we have become adept at understanding that behavior from different IP addresses,” he says.
The system is also being used in one of the pilots for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. BioSig-ID is the authentication technology being used in the pilot with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
The pilot is creating a trust framework to serve the public and private sectors. After that is complete, the pilot is going to take identities from commercial providers – Google, Facebook, etc. – and enable consumers to add assurance to them. Consumers will use driver license data, which will be checked against the Virginia DMV, to add the extra authentication elements.
The project is offering several authentication systems for users, Biometric Signature ID included. To enroll, the user draws a “signature” using the mouse and builds a profile. When returning to use the system, the user again draws the signature, it is checked against the enrolled version and an authentication decision is made.
Biometric Signature ID is jumping into the health care market with a pilot coming soon, Maynard says. The pilot will use Biometric Signature ID’s mobile app and QR codes for authentication events.