NexID enables liveness detection for Android handsets
07 May, 2014
category: Biometrics, Digital ID
NexID Biometrics LLC launched its Mobile Live Finger Detection application for the Android operating system.
The application ported to the Android platform means that makers of Android smart phones and other mobile devices can use the system to improve the accuracy and security of the devices’ fingerprint scannersto greater than 95%.
NexID’s application looks at the raw fingerprint image, extracts around 120 different features, analyzes them and creates a score that determines whether it’s a real or fake fingerprint, says Mark Cornett, CEO at the company.
Previously, NexID’s application was available on Windows and Linux but the Android product will enable fingerprint sensor and handset manufacturers the ability to include live finger detection into future products, Cornett says.
Mobile devices with fingerprint scanners on the market today are susceptible to having bogus fingerprints spoof the sensors. The iPhone 5S, Samsung Galaxy s% and HTC One all have been spoofed. Liveness detection would give some security against fake fingerprint being on the devices.
The use of fingerprint scanners on mobile devices is predicted to increase. Goode Intelligence, a U.K. research consultancy, has predicted that as many as 3.4 billion smart phones will be equipped with biometric sensors by 2018.
“Augmenting fingerprint sensors with liveness detection is ‘must have’ functionality because it facilitates mobile commerce, providing both users and services providers with confidence that mobile transactions can occur safely and securely,” Cornett says.
